the feast days - sdadefend library/feastdays.pdf · this is our feast today 120 conclusion 121 ......

Harvestime Books

BY

VANCE FERRELL

TheTheTheTheTheFFFFFeast Dayseast Dayseast Dayseast Dayseast DaysThe most complete coverage of the

subject available anywhere.

386 Bible and Spirit of Prophecyquotations or references.

The Statutes, Feast Days, and otherceremonies: Which ones are stillvalid?

Here is the information you have beenlooking for!

What are we permitted to do? What arewe required to do? What are weforbidden to do?

The answers are in this book.

HB–907The Feast Daysby Vance FerrellPublished by Harvestime BooksAltamont, TN 37301 USAPrinted in the United States of AmericaCover: Joe ManiscalcoCover and Text Copyright © 2006

About the cover: A major event occurred at the mo-ment that Christ died on the cross.

“Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice,yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the templewas rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earthdid quake, and the rocks rent.”—Matthew 27:50-51 (Mark15:38, Luke 23:45).

The entire ceremonial system of types had suddenly,dramatically ended. God Himself drew near and clearlyshowed His decision in the matter.

“ ‘In the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrificeand the oblation to cease.’ Dan. 9:27. In the spring of A.D.31, Christ the true sacrifice was offered on Calvary. Thenthe veil of the temple was rent in twain, showing that thesacredness and significance of the sacrificial service haddeparted.”—Desire of Ages, 233.

“When Christ upon the cross cried out, ‘It is finished’(John 19:30), and the veil of the temple was rent in twain,the Holy Watcher declared that the Jewish people had re-jected Him who was the antitype of all their types, the sub-stance of all their shadows.”—Desire of Ages, 709.

No longer was the earthly ceremonial ordinancesneeded, for now there is a living way into the holy place, inheaven where Jesus is (Hebrews 10:20).

Additional copies: For additional copies of this book at remarkably lowprices in boxful quantities, write to Harvestime Books, Altamont, TN 37301.When you write, ask for a copy of our “Missionary Book Order Sheet,” con-taining low-cost boxful prices of this and other books, such as Great Contro-versy, Ministry of Healing, Christ’s Object Lessons, Bible Readings, etc.

Share this low-cost bookwith others who need this information.

It is available in small boxfulsat very low prices.

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--- PART ONE ---

LAWS GIVEN THROUGH MOSESWHICH ARE REQUIRED TODAY

The Ten Commandments 5The Moral Statutes and Judgments 7The Tithe Law 13The Health Laws 14The Agriculture Laws 16Our Covenant with God 18

--- PART TWO ---

ATTENDANCE ATCAMP MEETINGS

OF REJOICING

A Recommendation 22

--- PART THREE ---

LAWS GIVEN THROUGH MOSESWHICH WERE ABOLISHED

AT THE CROSS

The Sacrificial Services Endedat Calvary 28

The Feast Days: 21 Facts 29The Ceremonies Abolished

at the Cross 38The Civil Laws 49Other Jewish Ordinances 50The Whole System 51Circumcision 52

Contents

4 The Feast Days

--- PART FOUR ---

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The Council at Jerusalem 55Can We Keep the Ceremonial Laws Spiri-

tually? 60Can We Keep the Feast Days

Spiritually? 62Preparing to Keep the Feast Days 63A Basic Requirement at Each Feast 64The Importance of Exact Obedience 6525 Errors Which Are Being Taught ! 67The Feasts in Type and Antitype 87Identity of the 144,000 91Beware of Speculation 98The Rituals Replaced

by the Lord’s Supper 99Ceremonial Laws Were National Laws 100Which Laws Are Mosaic? 102Paul Speaks to the Galatians 103Judaizing Christians 104Ceremonialism 114Paul and the Ceremonial Law 116This is Our Feast Today 120Conclusion 121Postscript: Under Attack 124For Further Study 127

“It was therefore necessary that the patterns ofthings in the heavens should be purified withthese; but the heavenly things themselves withbetter sacrifices than these. For Christ is notentered into the holy places made with hands,which are the figures of the true; but into heavenitself, now to appear in the presence of God forus.” —Hebrews 9:23-24

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The Feast Days- PART ONE -

LAWS GIVENTHROUGH MOSES

WHICH ARE REQUIREDTODAY

THETEN COMMANDMENTS

The Moral Law of Ten Commandments wasrepeated by God to His people at Mount Sinai. Itwas not first given to them there. The Ten Com-mandments stand above and apart from everyother rule and regulation.

Through the enabling grace of Christ, we mustobey this law.

“When the law was spoken, the Lord, the Creatorof heaven and earth, stood by the side of His Son,enshrouded in the fire and the smoke on the mount.It was not here that the law was first given; but itwas proclaimed, that the children of Israel, whoseideas had become confused in their association withidolaters in Egypt, might be reminded of its terms,and understand what constitutes the true worshipof Jehovah.”—1 Bible Commentary, 1103-1104.

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6 The Feast Days

“Adam and Eve, at their creation, had a knowl-edge of the law of God. It was printed on theirhearts, and they understood its claims uponthem.”—1 Bible Commentary, 1104.

“The law of God existed before man was cre-ated. It was adapted to the condition of holy beings;even angels were governed by it. After the fall, theprinciples of righteousness were unchanged. Noth-ing was taken from the law; not one of its holyprecepts could be improved. And as it has ex-isted from the beginning, so will it continue toexist throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity.‘Concerning thy testimonies,’ says the psalmist, ‘Ihave known of old that Thou hast founded themforever.’ ”—1 Bible Commentary, 1104.

“The ten commandments, Thou shalt, and Thoushalt not, are ten promises, assured to us if werender obedience to the law governing the universe.‘If ye love Me, keep My commandments.’ Here is thesum and substance of the law of God. The terms ofsalvation for every son and daughter of Adam arehere outlined.”—1 Bible Commentary, 1105.

“The ten holy precepts spoken by Christ uponSinai’s mount were the revelation of the charac-ter of God, and made known to the world the factthat He had jurisdiction over the whole human heri-tage. That law of ten precepts of the greatest lovethat can be presented to man is the voice of Godfrom heaven speaking to the soul in promise, ‘Thisdo, and you will not come under the dominion andcontrol of Satan.’ There is not a negative in that law,although it may appear thus. It is DO, and Live.”—1Bible Commentary, 1105.

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THE MORAL STATUTESAND JUDGMENTS

There are very, very few instances in whichthe Spirit of Prophecy says we should obey otherlaws given through Moses. But there are somewhich we must obey. We will try to quote most ofthese statements here.

The “Statutes and Judgments” are specialmoral rules of conduct, which explain in moredetail some of the principles of the Ten Command-ments. Most of these regulations concern our re-lations with one another.

They are also called “judgments” because thejudge was to decide the punishment for offenses ofthis sort.

“These laws were called judgments, both becausethey were framed in infinite wisdom and equity andbecause the magistrates were to give judgmentaccording to them. Unlike the Ten Commandments,they were delivered privately to Moses, who was tocommunicate them to the people.”—Patriarchs andProphets, 310.In the following passage, we are told exactly

what kind of regulations these are.Notice that the following statements are about

moral conduct statutes. None of them are com-mandments requiring the observance of feastdays.

“In consequence of continual transgression, themoral law [the Ten Commandments] was repeatedin awful grandeur from Sinai.

Laws Required Today

8 The Feast Days

“Christ [also] gave to Moses religious preceptswhich were to govern the everyday life. These stat-utes were explicitly given to guard the Ten Com-mandments. They were not shadowy types to passaway with the death of Christ. They were to be bind-ing upon men in every age as long as time shouldlast. These commands were enforced by the powerof the moral law, and they clearly and definitelyexplained that law . .

“The statutes and judgments specifying theduty of man to his fellow men were full of impor-tant instruction, defining and simplifying the prin-ciples of the moral law, for the purpose of increas-ing religious knowledge, and of preserving God’schosen people distinct and separate from idolatrousnations. The statutes concerning marriage, inher-itance, and strict justice in dealing with one an-other were peculiar and contrary to the customsand manners of other nations, and were designedof God to keep His people separate from other na-tions.

“The necessity of this, to preserve the peopleof God from becoming like the nations who hadnot the love and fear of God, is the same in this[present] corrupt age, when the transgression ofGod’s law prevails and idolatry exists to a fearfulextent. If ancient Israel needed such security, weneed it more, to keep us from being utterly con-founded with the transgressors of God’s law. Thehearts of men are so prone to depart from God thatthere is a necessity for restraint and discipline.”—Review and Herald, May 6, 1875.In the complete article from which the above

excerpt is taken, the first two paragraphs are aboutthe importance of the moral law of Ten Command-ments. Next is introduced the ceremonial laws

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of sacrifices, and it is pointed out that this isseparate from the moral law. (Elsewhere, the Spiritof Prophecy speaks about some of the feast days aspart of the ceremonial laws.)

Then, in the above quotation, we are told abouta third category of laws, called the statutes andjudgments, which, we are told, are not part ofthe moral law nor part of the ceremonial laws.Next, as quoted above, we are told that these stat-utes help explain some details about the morallaw.

(In addition to the statutes, many other detailsabout the Ten Commandments are explained in Pa-triarchs and Prophets, 305-309,—as well as allthrough the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy!)

What are these statutes and judgments? Theyare basically given in their entirety in Exodus 21and 22.

These statutes and judgments were given to ex-plain how to treat one another. They apply to mar-riage, inheritance, serious quarrels, injury by manor beast, theft, fornication, care for widows andorphans, and justice in business affairs.

Ellen White quotes some of these moral stat-utes and gives an example of how they should beobeyed:

“ ‘Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant that ispoor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or ofthy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates;at his day shalt thou give him his hire, neither shallthe sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and settethhis heart upon it; lest he cry against thee unto theLord, and it be sin unto thee.’ ‘Thou shalt not de-

Laws Required Today

10 The Feast Days

fraud thy neighbor, neither rob him; the wages ofhim that is hired shall not abide with thee all nightuntil morning.’

“The Lord Jesus gave these commandmentsfrom the pillar of cloud, and Moses repeated themto the children of Israel and wrote them in a book,that they might not depart from righteousness.We are under obligation to fulfill these specifica-tions; for in so doing we fulfill the specifications ofthe law of God. If a brother who has labored disin-terestedly for the cause of God becomes enfeebledin body and is unable to do his work, let him not bedismissed and be obliged to get along the best wayhe can. Give him wages sufficient to support him;for remember he belongs to God’s family, and thatyou are all brethren.”—Review, December 18, 1894.Deuteronomy 27:11 to 28:68 contain the

blessings and the curses—which include some ofthe moral statutes we are to obey. Read them! Weare told that we should read and obey these warn-ings:

“Here are stated plainly the blessings of obedi-ence. These directions, which the Lord gave toHis people, express the principles of the law ofthe kingdom of God; and they are made specific,so that the minds of the people may not be left inignorance and uncertainty. These scripturespresent the never-ceasing obligation of all whom Godhas blessed with life and health and advantages intemporal and spiritual things. The message has notgrown weak because of age. God’s claims are just asbinding now, just as fresh in their importance, asGod’s gifts are fresh and continual.

“Lest any should forget these important direc-tions, Christ has repeated them with His ownvoice. He calls His followers to a life of consecra-

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tion and self-denial. He says: ‘If any man will comeafter Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross,and follow Me.’ This means what it says. Only byself-denial and self-sacrifice can we show that weare true disciples of Christ.”—Review, December25, 1900.The moral principles given us, so clearly in

Deuteronomy, must be obeyed today. We shouldfrequently read that book!

“The principles set forth in Deuteronomy forthe instruction of Israel are to be followed by God’speople to the end of time. True prosperity is de-pendent on the continuance of our covenant rela-tionship with God. Never can we afford to compro-mise principle by entering into alliance with thosewho do not fear Him.

“There is constant danger that professing Chris-tians will come to think that in order to have influ-ence with worldlings, they must to a certain extentconform to the world. But though such a course mayappear to afford great advantages, it always ends inspiritual loss.”—Prophets and Kings, 570.Here are three additional statements about

the statutes and judgments:“The instructions given to Moses for ancient Is-

rael, with their sharp, rigid outlines, are to be stud-ied and obeyed by the people of God today.”—1Bible Commentary, 1103.

“In consequence of continual transgression, themoral law was repeated in awful grandeur fromSinai. Christ gave to Moses religious precepts whichwere to govern everyday life. These statutes wereexplicitly given to guard the ten commandments.They were not shadowy types to pass away withthe death of Christ. They were to be binding upon

Laws Required Today

12 The Feast Days

men in every age as long as time should last. Thesecommands were enforced by the power of the morallaw, and they clearly and definitely explained thatlaw.”—1 Bible Commentary, 1104.

“The law of types reached forward to Christ. Allhope and faith centered in Christ until type reachedits antitype in His death. The statutes and judg-ments, specifying the duty of man to his fellow-men, were full of important instruction, definingand simplifying the principles of the moral law,for the purpose of increasing religious knowledge,and of preserving God’s chosen people distinct andseparate from idolatrous nations. Notice again thatnothing is here said about keeping the feast days.

“The statutes concerning marriage, inheri-tance, and strict justice in dealing with one an-other, were peculiar and contrary to the customsand manners of other nations, and were designedof God to keep His people separate from other na-tions. The necessity of this to preserve the people ofGod from becoming like the nations who had notthe love and fear of God, is the same in this corruptage, when the transgression of God’s law prevailsand idolatry exists to a fearful extent. If ancient Is-rael needed such security, we need it more, to keepus from being utterly confounded with the trans-gressors of God’s law. The hearts of men are so proneto depart from God that there is a necessity for re-straint and discipline.”—Review, May 6, 1875.Very little is mentioned in the Spirit of Proph-

ecy about the statutes and judgments. The abovequotations include nearly every statement of sig-nificance about them.

Yet, although not mentioned very much, they arestill important; for they spell out moral principles

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of conduct toward one another, which we shouldobey.

But “statutes” do not only refer to the moral judg-ments in Exodus 21 and 22. The words, “statutes”and “judgments,” are also used elsewhere in theBible to indicate the Ten Commandments. Sowhen you read about “statutes” or “judgments,”it may be talking about the Moral Law in Exodus20:3-17, not the explanatory statutes in the nexttwo chapters: 21 and 22.

An example of this will be found in Psalm 119.In its 176 verses, we continually find one or the otherof six different Hebrew words for the law of God.The descriptions never once speak about animalsacrifices nor mention any Levitical practices. Nei-ther do they mention any of the statues and judg-ments in Exodus 21 to 23. The lengthy chapterseems to be referring exclusively to the moral law ofTen Commandments.

THE TITHE LAW

Like the Ten Commandments, the principleof tithing was given to God’s people before thetime of Moses. The first mention of it is whenAbraham paid tithes to Melchizedek (Gen 14:20;28:22).

Additional information about tithing was givenduring the wilderness wandering (Lev 27:30-32,etc.).

Both Christ and Paul tell us we should pay ittoday. Here are these statements:

Laws Required Today

14 The Feast Days

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, andhave omitted the weightier [matters] of the law, judg-ment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done,and not to leave the other undone.”—Matthew 23:23(Luke 11:42 nearly the same).

“And here men that die receive tithes; but thereHe receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that Heliveth. And as I may so say, Levi also, who receivethtithes, payed tithes in Abraham.”—Hebrews 7:8-9.(Tithes paid here are received by Christ.)The tithe is specifically named in the New Tes-

tament as of continued obligation. But there is nosuch obligation—no definite requirement—that wemust keep the feast days after Calvary.

THE HEALTH LAWS

We are definitely told that we must obey theHealth Laws and the Physical Laws governing ourbodies. Here is some information about them:

Carefully reading through everything on thesubject, we find that, while some principles aregiven in the Bible, we must also use commonsense.

In the early 1960s, the present writer wentthrough the entire Bible in order to specifically lo-cate every passage dealing with health and healing.You will find them (most are quoted) in our book,Medical Missionary Manual, as follows: “The HealthMessage as It is Found in the Bible,” pp. 368-377.“Medical Missionary Work as It is Found in theBible,” pp. 377-396. “Health and Medical Mission-ary Stories in the Bible,” pp. 396-399. “Health and

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Medical Missionary Texts,” pp. 399-411. “DivineHealing as Found in the Bible,” pp. 411-416.

Here are several important statements onthese laws. You will find the complete collection of36 quotations on pp. 26-28 of the present author’sbook, The Natural Remedies Encyclopedia (FourthEdition).

“The transgression of physical law is the trans-gression of God’s law. Our Creator is Jesus Christ.He is the author of our being. He has created thehuman structure. He is the author of the physicallaws, as He is the author of the moral law. And thehuman being who is careless and reckless of thehabits and practices that concern his physical lifeand health, sins against God.”—Counsels on Dietand Foods, 43 (cf. Ministry of Healing, 131).

“God’s law is written by His own finger uponevery nerve, every muscle, every faculty which hasbeen entrusted to man.”—Spalding and Magan’sManuscript Testimonies of Ellen White, 40.

“Health, strength, and happiness depend uponimmutable laws; but these laws cannot be obeyedwhere there is no anxiety to become acquainted withthem.”—Healthful Living, 18.

“The Lord has made it a part of His plan thatman’s reaping shall be according to his sowing.”—Healthful Living, 25 (Letter, May 19, 1897).

“To make plain natural law, and urge the obe-dience of it, is the work that accompanies thethird angel’s message to prepare a people for thecoming of the Lord.”—3 Testimonies, 161 (Coun-sel on Diet and Foods, 69).

“There are many ways of practicing the heal-ing art, but there is only one way that Heaven

Laws Required Today

16 The Feast Days

approves. God’s remedies are the simple agen-cies of nature that will not tax or debilitate thesystem through their powerful properties. Pure airand water, cleanliness, a proper diet, purity of life,and a firm trust in God are remedies for the want ofwhich thousands are dying; yet these remedies aregoing out of date because their skillful use requireswork that the people do not appreciate.”—5 Testi-monies, 443.

“It is the duty of every human being, for his ownsake and for the sake of humanity, to inform him-self or herself in regard to the laws of organic life,and conscientiously to obey them . . It is the dutyof every person to become intelligent in regard todisease and its causes.”—Healthful Living, 19 (Let-ter, December 4, 1896).

For much, much more information on this sub-ject, we recommend the following two books: TheMedical Missionary Manual and The Natural Rem-edies Encyclopedia; both of which may be pur-chased from us.

THE AGRICULTURE LAWS

There is not a lot of specific instruction inthe Bible on this subject, and nearly all of it isreferenced below. Most of the Spirit of Prophecystatements consist of passing comments about theagricultural work that should be done in our blue-print schools and by our people. Most are about theimportance of improving the soil, the health ben-efits of working the soil, and the need to not let it soengross the mind that there is no time for mission-ary work.

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In order to learn still more about health andagricultural principles, it will be necessary to docareful study in other sources, of which there aremany.

Here is one of the few statements about theAgriculture Laws given through Moses:

“Men were to cooperate with God in restoringthe diseased land to health, that it might be a praiseand a glory to His name. And as the land they pos-sessed would, if managed with skill and earnest-ness, produce its treasures, so their hearts, if con-trolled by God, would reflect His character . .

“In the laws which God gave for the cultivationof the soil, He was giving the people opportunity toovercome their selfishness and become heavenly-minded. Canaan would be to them as Eden if theyobeyed the Word of the Lord. Through them theLord designed to teach all the nations of the worldhow to cultivate the soil so that it would yieldhealthy fruit, free from disease. The earth is theLord’s vineyard, and is to be treated according toHis plan. Those who cultivated the soil were to real-ize that they were doing God service. They were astruly in their lot and place as were the men appointedto minister in the priesthood and in work connectedwith the tabernacle.”—1 Bible Commentary, 1112.In all our agricultural work, we should ac-

knowledge God as the one who provides for us:“But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious

heart; they are revolted and gone. Neither say theyin their heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God,that giveth rain, both the former and the latter,in His season: He reserveth unto us the appointedweeks of the harvest. Your iniquities have turnedaway these things, and your sins have withholden

Laws Required Today

18 The Feast Days

good things from you.”—Jeremiah 5:23-25.Here is where you can learn a little more about

Bible principles concerning agriculture: Ex 22:5-6; 34:21 (20:9; 28:12; Deut 5:13-14); 34:22; Lev19:9-10, 19, 23-25; 25:2-28; Deut 22:9-10; 23:24-25 (Matt 12:1); 24:19-20. Also Prov 3:9-10; 27:23-27; Eccl 5:9; Isa 28:24-28; Matt 13:37; 2 Cor 9:6;Gal 6:7.

“Study in agricultural lines should be the A, B,and C of the education given in our schools. Thisis the very first work that should be entered upon.Our schools should not depend upon imported pro-duce, for grain and vegetables, and the fruits so es-sential to health. Our youth need an education infelling trees and tilling the soil as well as in literarylines.”—6 Testimonies, 179.

“As a relaxation from study, occupations pursuedin the open air, and affording exercise for the wholebody, are the most beneficial. No line of manualtraining is of more value than agriculture. A greatereffort should be made to create and to encourage aninterest in agricultural pursuits . . In the study ofagriculture, let pupils be given not only theory, butpractice. While they learn what science can teachin regard to the nature and preparation of thesoil, the value of different crops, and the bestmethods of production, let them put their knowl-edge to use. Let teachers share the work with thestudents, and show what results can be achievedthrough skillful, intelligent effort.”—Education, 219.

OUR COVENANT WITH GOD

The Covenant of Redemption was first made

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with mankind in the Garden of Eden, immedi-ately after the fall of Adam and Eve.

Through the enabling grace of Christ, we mustobey this covenant agreement or we will perish.

It has been claimed by some that the Mosaiclaws were part of the covenant that God has madewith us. That is not true. Careful study into thematter reveals that God’s covenant with mankindis founded solely on the Ten Commandments andobedience to them.

Keep in mind that only the Ten Commandmentswere placed in the ark. No other regulations wereput in there. This fact is so important it is men-tioned three times in Scripture (Ex 40:20; 1 Kgs8:9; Heb 9:4).

In Deuteronomy 5, the Ten Commandments arecalled “the covenant” and then quoted. This iswhy the ark of the covenant has that name! Itcontains the moral law, which is the covenant.

The other laws (including the Statutes andJudgments), plus the sacrificial and feast dayregulations, were placed alongside, just outsidethe ark (Deut 31:24-26).

“The ceremonial law was thus given to Moses,and by him written in a book. But the law of TenCommandments spoken from Sinai had been writ-ten by God Himself on the tables of stone, and wassacredly preserved in the ark.”—Patriarchs andProphets, 365.Here are the references so you can look them

up: The Ten Commandments, written by the fin-ger of God (Ex 31:18) on solid, enduring rock (Ex24:12; 34:1) were reverently placed into the ark

Laws Required Today

20 The Feast Days

(Ex 40:20; 1 Kgs 8:9; Heb 9:4). But all of the “cer-emonial laws,” written on perishable paper or ani-mal skins (Col 2:14), were kept outside the ark(Deut 31:24-26).

Here are several statements about the law ofGod, as it relates to the covenant of redemption:

“The Lord our God made a covenant with us inHoreb. The Lord made not this covenant with ourfathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us herealive this day. The Lord talked with you face toface in the mount out of the midst of the fire, (Istood between the Lord and you at that time, to showyou the word of the Lord: for ye were afraid by rea-son of the fire, and went not up into the mount;)saying, ‘I am the Lord thy God, which brought theeout of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.Thou shalt have none other gods before Me . .’ ” —Deuteronomy 5:2-7.

“The covenant that God made with His peopleat Sinai is to be our refuge and defense. The Lordsaid to Moses: ‘. . Now therefore, if ye will obey Myvoice indeed, and keep My covenant, than ye shallbe a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people . .And all the people answered together, and said, Allthat the Lord hath spoken we will do’ [Ex 19:3-8].This covenant is of just as much force today as itwas when the Lord made it with ancient Israel.”—1Bible Commentary, 1103.

“This is the pledge that God’s people are to makein these last days. Their acceptance with God de-pends on a faithful fulfillment of the terms of theiragreement with Him. God includes in His covenantall who will obey Him. To all who will do justiceand judgment, keeping their hand from doing anyevil, the promise is, ‘Even unto them will I give in

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Mine house and within My walls a place and a namebetter than of sons and of daughters: I will give theman everlasting name, that shall not be cut off ’ [Ex19:7-8].”—1 Bible Commentary, 1103.

“The requirement under the covenant of graceis just as broad as the requirement made in Eden—harmony with God’s law, which is holy, just, andgood.”—Christ’s Object Lessons, 391.

“The law of God, which was the condition ofthe divine covenant with Abraham, was regardedby Esau as a yoke of bondage.”—Patriarchs andProphets, 178.

“If he [Aaron] had unswervingly maintained hisown allegiance to God, if he had cited the people tothe perils of Sinai, and had reminded them of theirsolemn covenant with God to obey His law, theevil would have been checked.”—Conflict and Cour-age, 98.

Chapter 32 of Patriarchs and Prophets, entitled“The Law and the Covenants” (pp. 363-373), ex-plains the relationship of the law to the covenantof redemption in great detail.

Laws Required Today

“Seeing then that we have a great highpriest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesusthe Son of God, let us hold fast ourprofession. For we have not an high priestwhich cannot be touched with the feeling ofour infirmities; but was in all points temptedlike as we are, yet without sin. Let ustherefore come boldly unto the throne ofgrace, that we may obtain mercy, and findgrace to help in time of need.”

—Hebrews 4:14-16

22 The Feast Days

- PART TWO -

ATTENDANCE ATCAMP MEETINGS

OF REJOICING

A RECOMMENDATION

The Feast of Tabernacles was, for the Hebrews,a time for rejoicing that they were God’s obedi-ent people and that He cared for them and in-tended to save them.

Anciently, it was the only gathering after the fi-nal harvest had been brought into the storehouse.

“This was the last feast of the year and came or-dinarily in the early or middle part of our October,after the harvest was over and the fruit gathered. Itwas a joyous occasion for all . . It was altogether themost happy occasion of the year, when friends andneighbors renewed communion and dwelt togetherin love and harmony.”—M.L. Andreasen, The Sanc-tuary Service, pp. 221, 222.We are urged by the Spirit of Prophecy to hold

gatherings and camp meetings where we rejoicein the blessings of God. But we are not told tohold actual Feasts of Tabernacles. The actualfeast required the offering of blood sacrificesthroughout the eight days of the gathering.

“Seven days ye shall offer an offering made byfire unto the Lord: on the eighth day shall be anholy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an of-fering made by fire unto the Lord: it is a solemn

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assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.”—Leviticus 23:36.We are encouraged to hold gatherings for re-

joicing. This counsel is given as a recommenda-tion, not as a command.

This is the only gathering of which the Spirit ofProphecy says “well would it be” for the people ofGod to observe something like this today.

We are not told that the gathering must be kept,nor are we told that it should only be kept at a cer-tain time in the year. Nor are we told that there needonly be one such meeting in a year’s time or that itcould not be held every other year.

But we are encouraged to gather together, toknow and express the happiness which was an-ciently felt at the Feast of Tabernacles.

The instruction in regard to this is very spe-cific and clear, and the entire passage includes athorough presentation of the entire reason for thisgathering. Here is this complete, lengthy quota-tion:

“In the seventh month came the Feast of Taber-nacles, or of ingathering. This feast acknowledgedGod’s bounty in the products of the orchard, theolive grove, and the vineyard. It was the crowningfestal gathering of the year. The land had yieldedits increase, the harvests had been gathered intothe granaries, the fruits, the oil, and the wine hadbeen stored, the first fruits had been reserved, andnow the people came with their tributes of thanks-giving to God, who had thus richly blessed them.

“This feast was to be pre-eminently an occa-sion of rejoicing. It occurred just after the greatDay of Atonement, when the assurance had been

Attendance at Camp meetings

24 The Feast Days

given that their iniquity should be rememberedno more. At peace with God, they now came beforeHim to acknowledge His goodness and to praise Himfor His mercy. The labors of the harvest beingended, and the toils of the new year not yet begun,the people were free from care, and could givethemselves up to the sacred, joyous influences ofthe hour. Though only the fathers and sons werecommanded to appear at the feasts, yet, so far aspossible, all the household were to attend them, andto their hospitality the servants, the Levites, thestranger, and the poor were made welcome.

“Like the Passover, the Feast of Tabernacles wascommemorative. In memory of their pilgrim life inthe wilderness the people were now to leave theirhouses and dwell in booths, or arbors, formed fromthe green branches ‘of goodly trees, branches of palmtrees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows ofthe brook.’ Leviticus 23:40, 42, 43.

“The first day was a holy convocation, and tothe seven days of the feast an eighth day wasadded, which was observed in like manner [Lev23:35-36].

“At these yearly assemblies the hearts of old andyoung would be encouraged in the service of God,while the association of the people from the differ-ent quarters of the land would strengthen the tiesthat bound them to God and to one another. Wellwould it be for the people of God at the presenttime to have a Feast of Tabernacles—a joyouscommemoration of the blessings of God to them.As the children of Israel celebrated the deliverancethat God had wrought for their fathers, and His mi-raculous preservation of them during their jour-neyings from Egypt, so should we gratefully call tomind the various ways He has devised for bring-

25

ing us out from the world, and from the darknessof error, into the precious light of His grace andtruth.

“With those who lived at a distance from the tab-ernacle, more than a month of every year must havebeen occupied in attendance upon the annual feasts.This example of devotion to God should emphasizethe importance of religious worship and the neces-sity of subordinating our selfish, worldly intereststo those that are spiritual and eternal. We sustain aloss when we neglect the privilege of associatingtogether to strengthen and encourage one anotherin the service of God. The truths of His Word losetheir vividness and importance in our minds. Ourhearts cease to be enlightened and aroused by thesanctifying influence, and we decline in spirituality.In our intercourse as Christians we lose much bylack of sympathy with one another. He who shutshimself up to himself is not filling the position thatGod designed he should. We are all children of oneFather, dependent upon one another for happiness.The claims of God and of humanity are upon us. Itis the proper cultivation of the social elements ofour nature that brings us into sympathy with ourbrethren and affords us happiness in our efforts tobless others.

“The Feast of Tabernacles was not only commemo-rative but typical. It not only pointed back to thewilderness sojourn, but, as the feast of harvest, itcelebrated the ingathering of the fruits of theearth, and pointed forward to the great day offinal ingathering, when the Lord of the harvest shallsend forth His reapers to gather the tares togetherin bundles for the fire, and to gather the wheatinto His garner. At that time the wicked will all bedestroyed. They will become ‘as though they had


26 The Feast Days

not been.’ Obadiah 16. And every voice in the wholeuniverse will unite in joyful praise to God. Says therevelator, ‘Every creature which is in heaven, andon the earth, and under the earth, and such as arein the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying,Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be untoHim that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lambforever and ever.’ Revelation 5:13.

“The people of Israel praised God at the Feastof Tabernacles, as they called to mind His mercy intheir deliverance from the bondage of Egypt and Histender care for them during their pilgrim life in thewilderness. They rejoiced also in the conscious-ness of pardon and acceptance, through the ser-vice of the day of atonement, just ended.

“But when the ransomed of the Lord shall havebeen safely gathered into the heavenly Canaan,forever delivered from the bondage of the curse, un-der which ‘the whole creation groaneth and travailethin pain together until now’ (Romans 8:22), they willrejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.Christ’s great work of atonement for men will thenhave been completed, and their sins will have beenforever blotted out.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, 540-542.The above wording indicates that this is not a

command but a very special recommendation,—and not one to be lightly disregarded; for attend-ing such a gathering will be for our blessing, andthe blessing of those with whom we fellowship.

The passage just quoted is obviously referringto camp meetings, or similar gatherings, when donein the right spirit, among believing brethren and sis-ters, and when earnest prayer and thanksgiving isoffered and earnest study of God’s Word is made.

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Both Ellen and James White used the phrase,“Feast of Tabernacles,” as a synonym for acamp meeting gathering, an evangelistic effort,or just plain happy living. Nowhere was it pre-sented as a requirement commanded by God, whichwe must do on pain of sin. Here are three quota-tions which will show this.

The first two statements refer to camp meet-ings in the winter, not in October when it was an-ciently commanded that the Feast of Tabernaclesbe held:

“Well would it be for us to have a feast of taber-nacles.”—Review, November 17, 1885.

“Shall we not gather our forces together, and comeup to the feast of tabernacles? . . Therefore come tothe camp meeting, even though you have to make asacrifice to do so.”—Bible Echo, December 8, 1893(an evangelistic effort).The following statement is about making your

daily life filled with thankfulness—all apart fromattending any meetings:

“Then shall your life henceforth be a continualFeast of Tabernacles, a continual thank offering.”—18 Manuscript Releases, 270.James White wrote this about a particular

camp meeting:“These annual feasts of tabernacles are gather-

ings of the greatest importance.”—Signs, June 8,1876. (For more information about the ancient Feast

of Tabernacles, see 2 Chron 8:13; Ezra 3:4; Zech14:16, 18-19; Jn 7:2. Also see Ex 23:16; Lev 23:34-36, 39-43; Deut 16:13-15; 31:10-13.)


28 The Feast Days

- PART THREE -

LAWS GIVENTHROUGH MOSES

WHICH WERE ABOLISHEDAT THE CROSS

THE SACRIFICIAL SERVICESENDED AT CALVARY

Every Mosaic service at the tabernacle orTemple (all the Levitical services, including theFeast of Tabernacles, were held there) came toan end when Christ died.

“When type met antitype in the death of Christ,the sacrificial offerings ceased. The ceremonial lawwas done away.”—Review, June 26, 1900.

“Paul’s hearers were made to understand that theMessiah, for whose advent they had been longing,had already come; that His death was the antitypeof all the sacrificial offerings.”—Acts of theApostles, 246.

“All is terror and confusion. The priest is aboutto slay the victim; but the knife drops from his nerve-less hand, and the lamb escapes. Type has metantitype in the death of God’s Son. The great sac-rifice has been made. The way into the holiest islaid open. A new and living way is prepared for all.No longer need sinful, sorrowing humanity await thecoming of the high priest. Henceforth the Saviourwas to officiate as priest and advocate in the heavenof heavens. It was as if a living voice had spoken tothe worshipers: There is now an end to all sacri-fices and offerings for sin.”—Desire of Ages, 757.

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“With the great sacrifice offered upon Calvary,ended that system of offerings which for four thou-sand years had pointed forward to the Lamb of God.Type had met antitype, and all the sacrifices andoblations of the ceremonial system were there tocease.”—Great Controversy, 327-328.

THE FEAST DAYS: 21 FACTS

These consisted of seven annual feasts, eachof which was held at the Temple in Jerusalem.Each of the feasts was centered around the spe-cial sacrifices offered during it. The feasts can-not be separated from their specified offerings.Here are these feasts:

The Passover was held in the evening in themiddle of the first month of the religious year. It isdiscussed in detail in Exodus 12:1-28, when it wasfirst given.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread. The day afterthe Passover was the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Itwas held immediately following the Passover sup-per, which occurred the preceding night. This feastwas held at the beginning of the barley harvest (Lev23:5-14), the first harvest of the year.

The Feast of First Fruits was also held in con-nection with the Passover (Lev 23:10-14), and oc-curred on the day after the Feast of UnleavenedBread began. A wave sheaf of grain (the first fruitsof the barley harvest) was waved. After that, the bar-ley harvest began out in the fields.

The Feast of Weeks (also called Pentecost, whichmeans “fiftieth”) was held 50 days later, and cel-

Laws Abolished at the Cross

30 The Feast Days

ebrated the season of the wheat harvest (Ex 34:22).As soon as it ended, the wheat harvest began.

The Feast of Trumpets, on the first day of theseventh month (Lev 23:24-25), was the civil NewYear’s Day. (The Israelites had two calendars.)

The Day of Atonement was held on the tenthday of the seventh month (Lev 23:27-32). On thisday, the Israelites were to “afflict” their souls inpreparation for this special cleansing (Lev 16).

The Feast of Ingathering (also called the Feastof Booths, but more frequently called the Feast ofTabernacles) was held for eight days in the middleof the seventh month, at the close of the olive andfruit harvest (Lev 23:34-44; Deut 16:13).

Does God require that we keep any or all ofthese feast days today? Here is the answer:

First, we are never told anywhere that, afterCalvary, we should keep them. Never are any of themcommanded by God. There is no definite passage,either in the Bible or Spirit of Prophecy, whichtells us we should keep any of the feast days.(The present writer has searched the entire E.G.White CD-Rom for such a passage and could notfind it. Even the statement, quoted earlier, aboutattending camp meetings of rejoicing, is a recom-mendation not a command.)

Second, the regulations for the feasts requiredthat each one be kept at the Temple in Jerusa-lem. That could no longer be done after A.D. 70,and therefore the Jews have never kept the feastssince then. Because the feasts were required to beobserved at the temple, they could not be kept dur-

31

ing the Babylonian captivity—or after A.D. 70.“Paul . . fully comprehended the difference be-

tween a living faith and a dead formalism. Paulstill claimed to be one of the children of Abraham,and kept the Ten Commandments in letter and inspirit as faithfully as he had ever done before hisconversion to Christianity. But he knew that thetypical ceremonies [conducted at the Temple inJerusalem] must soon altogether cease, since thatwhich they had shadowed forth had come to pass,and the light of the gospel was shedding its gloryupon the Jewish religion, giving a new significanceto its ancient rites.”—Story of Redemption, 306.

Third, observance at the feasts requires bloodofferings during the feasts at the Temple. Jewstoday are not able to properly keep the Passover,because they do not have the Temple—and at theonly place where it can be located: the Temple Mountin Jerusalem. Therefore, they cannot offer the ani-mal sacrifices. (Jews try to substitute by individu-ally having a family meal in their home, at the be-ginning of which, the father swings a dead chickenover his head; and then the family eats it! They neversacrifice lambs or goats, as required at the feastsand other Levitical services.)

Fourth, blood offerings are also required atthe Feast of Tabernacles! Sacrificial blood of-ferings had to be offered during each of the eightdays of the Feast of Tabernacles.

“The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall bethe feast of tabernacles for seven days unto theLord. On the first day shall be an holy convocation:ye shall do no servile work therein. Seven days yeshall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord:


32 The Feast Days

on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation untoyou; and ye shall offer an offering made by fireunto the Lord: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shalldo no servile work therein.”—Leviticus 23:34-36.

Fifth, The feasts were an integral part of thesacrificial system! They could not be separated.At every yearly feast, animals were sacrificed. Thismade each feast a foreshadowing of the death ofChrist. They were among all the ordinances whichlooked forward to Calvary and were nailed to thecross.

Sixth, the feasts were closely tied to the spe-cial Israelite agricultural calendar, with a thirteenthmonth added when needed, which again meant thatthey could not be kept in captivity. (Ex 21:2; Jer34:13-14). We do not use that calendar today. It re-quired special sightings for several days from a hill-top, in order to determine when the moon first aroseafter the winter equinox.

Seventh, by special command of God, eachfeast day could only be held at a certain time inthe year. No feast day gathering was acceptable toHim if it was not held at the proper time.

These times were given with careful exactnessin Scripture, along with the specified blood sacri-fices required for each feast. They could not be sepa-rated. (More on this later.)

Eighth, Christ has freed us from the obliga-tion to keep the Jewish ceremonies, so why shouldwe return to them?

Ninth, if you choose to return to a position of

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obedience to those laws, you must obey them fully.“Now we know that what things soever the law

saith, it saith to them who are under the law.”—Romans 3:19.Exact obedience is required of those who

choose to place themselves under the Mosaic ordi-nances. God never accepts halfway obedience.

Tenth, Gentiles are not under the CeremonialLaws. As we will learn later, this was the ruling madeby the early Christian church. It was agreed to by allthe Apostles, including Paul.

“Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble notthem, which from among the Gentiles are turned toGod.”—Acts 15:19.

“Paul . . describes the visit which he made toJerusalem to secure a settlement of the very ques-tions which are now agitating the churches ofGalatia, as to whether the Gentiles should submitto circumcision and keep the ceremonial law . .But the three leading apostles, against whom no suchprejudice existed, having themselves been won tothe true position, brought the matter before the coun-cil, and won from all a concurrence in the deci-sion to leave the Gentiles free from the obliga-tions of the ceremonial law.”—6 Bible Commen-tary, 1108.

Eleventh, the ruling abolishing them wasguided by the Holy Spirit. (More on this later.)

“But the Holy Spirit had, in reality, alreadysettled this question . . He [Peter] reasoned thatthe Holy Spirit had decided the matter under dis-pute by descending with equal power upon the un-circumcised Gentiles and the circumcised Jews.”—Acts of the Apostles, 191, 192.


34 The Feast Days

Twelfth, although circumcision was discussedat the meeting, that final ruling concerned the en-tire ceremonial law, including circumcision. (Moreon this later.)

“The Holy Spirit saw good not to impose the cer-emonial law on the Gentile converts, and the mindof the apostles regarding this matter was as themind of the Spirit of God.”—Acts of the Apostles,194.

Thirteenth, that decision, about the “ceremo-nial law,” also included regulations and ritualswhich did not foreshadow Christ’s death and werenot fulfilled at Calvary. The decision definitely in-cluded circumcision, which was not a type of Christand His death. Circumcision symbolized dedicationof the life to God. (More on this later.)

Fourteenth, that decision was endorsed by theSpirit of Prophecy, as being the will of God. Al-though Judaizing teachers had insisted that Gen-tiles should keep the ceremonial laws (AA 188-189;6BC 1110), the decision of the council was that Gen-tiles are free from obligations of the ceremonial laws(AA 195; 6BC 1108). (More on this later.)

Fifteenth, it cannot be that we are supposedto literally keep the Feast of Tabernacles today’;for then we would have to sacrifice a lamb eachday during the entire eight-day service, and wewould have to do it at Jerusalem on the TempleMount! That is what the requirement called for. Asnoted earlier, Ellen White clearly explained that whatshe meant was voluntary attendance at joyous gath-erings with fellow believers.

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Sixteenth, anyone who tries to keep one ofthese feasts, without offering the required bloodsacrifices, is disobeying a plain command of theLord. He is developing new traditions not basedon Biblical commands.

Seventeenth, we are clearly told that the “sab-bath days” were blotted out and nailed to the cross(Col 2:14-17). If we are supposed to keep the feastdays today,—what were the “sabbath days” whichwere blotted out and nailed to the cross?

“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances thatwas against us, which was contrary to us, and tookit out of the way, nailing it to His cross; And havingspoiled principalities and powers, He made a showof them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let noman therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or inrespect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or ofthe sabbath days: which are a shadow of thingsto come; but the body is of Christ.”—Colossians2:14-16.It is thus clear that the “handwriting of ordi-

nances,” which was blotted out at the cross, in-cluded the feast days.

Eighteenth, what is the “holy day” (Col 2:16,quoted above) which was blotted out and nailed tothe cross? The Greek word for “holyday” is heorte,which is also clearly used to designate one of theyearly festivals of the Jews, as we see in this verse:

“After this there was a feast [heorte] of the Jews;and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.”—John 5:1.So “holyday” is a synonym for feast days. Not

including the Bible Sabbath, there were no other“holydays” in ancient Judaism except the feast


36 The Feast Days

days! Paul tells us they were blotted out and nailedto the cross.

In contrast, the weekly Sabbath is never referredto as a “feast.” Neither is it ever connected to theJews by such terms as “sabbath of the Jews.” It isonly designated as the “Sabbath of the Lord.” Thusit is clear that Colossians 2:14-16 refers to the feastdays, as well as the other ceremonial laws.

Nineteenth, we are elsewhere told that thoseMosaic laws were “carnal ordinances,” with“divers washings,” which were only required ofGod’s people “until the time of reformation.”

“Meats and drinks, and divers washings, andcarnal ordinances, imposed on them until the timeof reformation.”—Hebrews 9:10.“Carnal ordinances” means “flesh ordinances,”

or ordinances of blood offerings of animals. “Diverswashings” especially refers to the importance of care-fully washing each part of the animal before sacri-ficing it (Lev 1:13, etc.). All of the feast days werecarnal ordinances—for animal sacrifices were re-quired at each one. “Divers washings” were doneto the sacrifices at the time they were offered onthe feast days.

The careful washings were part of the standardpreparatory procedure for sacrificial offerings:

“But he shall wash the inwards and the legswith water: and the priest shall bring it all, andburn it upon the altar.”—Leviticus 1:13.

Twentieth, John was the last Apostle to live andwrite Inspired Scripture. He wrote about A.D. 95.This was about 60 years after Calvary! What didJohn say about the feast days? John mentions

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the feast days only four times in all his writings.—Every passage speaks derogatorily of them asbelonging to “the Jews.” This is highly significant.

“And the Jews’ passover was at hand.”—John2:13.

“And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.”—John 6:4.

“Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was athand.”—John 7:2.

“And the Jews’ passover was nigh at hand.”—John11:55.

Twenty-first, in view of what we have learnedalready, in which of the following two catego-ries would we place the feast days? The firstcategory is the Moral Law of Ten Commandments;the second is the Ceremonial Law:

Moral Law: Was called the “royal law” (James2:8). / Ceremonial Law: Was called “the law . . con-tained in ordinances” (Eph 2:15).

Moral Law: Was spoken by God (Deut 4:12). /Ceremonial Law: Spoken by Moses (Lev 1:1-3).

Moral Law: Was written by God on tables ofstone (Ex 24:12). / Ceremonial Law: Was “the hand-writing of ordinances” (Col 2:14).

Moral Law: Was written with the finger of Godon stone (Ex 31:18). / Ceremonial Law: Was writ-ten by Moses in a book (2 Chron 35:12).

Moral Law: Was placed in the ark (Ex 40:20; 1Kgs 8:9; Heb 9:4). / Ceremonial Law: Was placedin the side of the ark (Deut 31:24-26).

Moral Law: Is “perfect” (Psalm 19:7). / Ceremo-nial Law: “Made nothing perfect” (Heb 7:19).


38 The Feast Days

Moral Law: Is to “stand fast forever and ever”(Ps 111:7-8). / Ceremonial Law: Was nailed to thecross (Col 2:14).

Moral Law: Was not destroyed by Christ (Matt5:17). / Ceremonial Law: Was abolished by Christ(Eph 2:15).

Moral Law: Was to be magnified by Christ (Isa42:21). / Ceremonial Law: Was taken out of theway by Christ (Col 2:14).

Moral Law: Gives knowledge of sin (Rom 3:20;7:7). / Ceremonial Law: Was instituted in conse-quence of sin (Lev 3-7).

THE CEREMONIESABOLISHED AT THE CROSS

1 - Every service performed at the Temple—including the daily sacrifices, the feast days, andall the rest—ended when Christ died.

“Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice,yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of thetemple was rent in twain from the top to the bot-tom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.”—Matthew 27:50-51 (Mark 15:38).

2 - All the types and shadows ended at thecross.

“While the Saviour’s death brought to an endthe law of types and shadows, it did not in theleast detract from the obligation of the moral law.On the contrary, the very fact that it was necessaryfor Christ to die in order to atone for the transgres-sion of that law, proves it to be immutable.”—Patri-archs and Prophets, 365.

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3 - The sacrificial laws were ceremonies andtypes and shadows which were done away with atthe cross.

“The ceremonial system was made up of sym-bols pointing to Christ, to His sacrifice and Hispriesthood. This ritual law, with its sacrifices andordinances, was to be performed by the Hebrewsuntil type met antitype in the death of Christ, theLamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.Then all the sacrificial offerings were to cease. Itis this law that Christ ‘took . . out of the way, nailingit to His cross.’ Colossians 2:14. But concerning thelaw of Ten Commandments the psalmist declares,‘Forever, O Lord, Thy Word is settled in heaven.’Psalm 119:89.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, 365.

4 - The Passover is an example of the “typesand ceremonies” which were abolished at thecross.

The significance of the Passover ceased whenChrist died (DA 723, 774; PP 539). The Passovertypified Christ’s death (6BC 1090; DA 51, 82, 154-155; GC 399; PP 277, 539; 6T 194-195).

“Christ was standing at the point of transitionbetween two economies and their two great festi-vals. He, the spotless Lamb of God, was about topresent Himself as a sin offering, that He wouldthus bring to an end the system of types and cer-emonies that for four thousand years had pointedto His death. As He ate the Passover with His dis-ciples, He instituted in its place the service that wasto be the memorial of His great sacrifice. The na-tional festival of the Jews was to pass away for-ever. The service which Christ established was tobe observed by His followers in all lands and throughall ages.”—Desire of Ages, 652.


40 The Feast Days

“The Passover was to be both commemorativeand typical, not only pointing back to the deliver-ance from Egypt, but forward to the greater deliver-ance which Christ was to accomplish in freeing Hispeople from the bondage of sin. The sacrificial lambrepresents ‘the Lamb of God,’ in whom is our onlyhope of salvation. Says the apostle, ‘Christ our Pass-over is sacrificed for us.’ 1 Corinthians 5:7. It wasnot enough that the paschal lamb be slain; its bloodmust be sprinkled upon the doorposts; so the mer-its of Christ’s blood must be applied to the soul. Wemust believe, not only that He died for the world,but that He died for us individually. We must appro-priate to ourselves the virtue of the atoning sacri-fice.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, 277.

“On the fourteenth day of the month, at even, thePassover was celebrated, its solemn, impressive cer-emonies commemorating the deliverance from bond-age in Egypt, and pointing forward to the sacrificethat should deliver from the bondage of sin. Whenthe Saviour yielded up His life on Calvary, thesignificance of the Passover ceased, and the ordi-nance of the Lord’s Supper was instituted as amemorial of the same event of which the Passoverhad been a type.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, 539.

“All the ceremonies of the feast were types ofthe work of Christ. The deliverance of Israel fromEgypt was an object lesson of redemption, whichthe Passover was intended to keep in memory. Theslain lamb, the unleavened bread, the sheaf offirst fruits, represented the Saviour.”—Desire ofAges, 77.

“The slaying of the Passover lamb was a shadowof the death of Christ. Says Paul: ‘Christ our Pass-over is sacrificed for us.’ 1 Corinthians 5:7. The sheafof first fruits, which at the time of the Passover was

41

waved before the Lord, was typical of the resurrec-tion of Christ. Paul says, in speaking of the resur-rection of the Lord and of all His people: ‘Christ thefirst fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at Hiscoming.’ 1 Corinthians 15:23. Like the wave sheaf,which was the first ripe grain gathered before theharvest, Christ is the first fruits of that immortalharvest of redeemed ones that at the future resur-rection shall be gathered into the garner of God.

“These types were fulfilled, not only as to theevent, but as to the time. On the fourteenth day ofthe first Jewish month, the very day and month onwhich for fifteen long centuries the Passover lambhad been slain, Christ, having eaten the Passoverwith His disciples, instituted that feast which wasto commemorate His own death as ‘the Lamb ofGod, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ Thatsame night He was taken by wicked hands to becrucified and slain. And as the antitype of the wavesheaf our Lord was raised from the dead on thethird day, ‘the first fruits of them that slept,’ a sampleof all the resurrected just, whose ‘vile body’ shall bechanged, and ‘fashioned like unto His glorious body.’Verse 20; Philippians 3:21.”—Great Controversy,399.

5 - The Feast of Unleavened Bread was part ofthe Passover (DA 77; PP 539), so it also ended atCalvary.

6 - Pentecost signaled the time of Christ’s in-auguration into His priesthood.

“The Pentecostal outpouring was Heaven’scommunication that the Redeemer’s inaugurationwas accomplished. According to His promise Hehad sent the Holy Spirit from heaven to His follow-ers as a token that He had, as priest and king, re-


42 The Feast Days

ceived all authority in heaven and on earth, and wasthe Anointed One over His people.”—Acts of theApostles, 39.We are never told that we should keep the Feast

of Pentecost, but we are told that God required thatthe Jews keep it (DA 75; Ed 41-42; MH 281; PP537; 540).

7 - We are never told that, today, we are re-quired to keep any Old Testament feast. This isbecause required obedience to the whole systemended at Calvary.

“Christ’s death and resurrection completedHis covenant. Before this time, it was revealedthrough types and shadows . . Christ’s sacrificeis the glorious fulfillment of the whole Jewisheconomy. The Sun of Righteousness has risen.Christ our righteousness is shining in brightnessupon us.”—7 Bible Commentary, 932.

8 - The feasts were an integral part of the sac-rificial system! The requirements for each one ofthem, as ordered by God, made it impossible toseparate the feasts from their sacrificial services.At every yearly feast, animals were sacrificed; usu-ally one each day. This made each feast a foreshad-owing of the death of Christ.

Because both the daily sacrifices and the yearlyfeasts were all about the offering of blood sacri-fices,—this is why, in all of the following statements,the entire “Jewish system,” the entire “Jewisheconomy,” and the entire “Mosaic system”—are saidto predict the coming of Christ as the Lamb of Godwho would die for the sins of the world! The sacri-fices were closely intertwined in all that was done

43

in the various services—and definitely in theyearly feasts!

“The great truths set forth by the types andshadows of the Mosaic law were brought to view,and faith grasped the central object of all thatsystem, the Lamb of God that was to take awaythe sins of the world.”—Fundamentals of Chris-tian Education, 97.

“Christ’s mission was not understood by thepeople of His time. The manner of His coming wasnot in accordance with their expectations. The LordJesus was the foundation of the whole Jewisheconomy. Its imposing services were of divine ap-pointment. They were designed to teach thepeople that at the time appointed One would cometo whom those ceremonies pointed.

“But the Jews had exalted the forms and ceremo-nies and had lost sight of their object. The tradi-tions, maxims, and enactments of men hid fromthem the lessons which God intended to convey.These maxims and traditions became an obstacleto their understanding and practice of true religion.

“And when the Reality came, in the person ofChrist, they did not recognize in Him the fulfill-ment of all their types, the substance of all theirshadows. They rejected the antitype, and clungto their types and useless ceremonies.”—Christ’sObject Lessons, 34-35.

“But One greater than Moses lay in the priest’sarms; and when he enrolled the child’s name, hewas enrolling the name of One who was the foun-dation of the whole Jewish economy. That namewas to be its death warrant; for the system of sac-rifices and offerings was waxing old; the type hadalmost reached its antitype, the shadow its sub-stance.”—Desire of Ages, 52.


44 The Feast Days

“The Jewish economy, bearing the signatureof Heaven, had been instituted by Christ Him-self. In types and symbols the great truths of re-demption were veiled. Yet when Christ came, theJews did not recognize Him to whom all these sym-bols pointed. They had the Word of God in theirhands; but the traditions which had been handeddown from generation to generation, and the hu-man interpretation of the Scriptures, hid from themthe truth as it is in Jesus. The spiritual import ofthe sacred writings was lost. The treasure house ofall knowledge was open to them, but they knew itnot.”—Christ’s Object Lessons, 104.

“Christ was the cornerstone of the Jewisheconomy, and of the whole plan of salvation. Thisfoundation stone the Jewish builders, the priestsand rulers of Israel, were now rejecting.”—Desire ofAges, 597.

“The rites of the Jewish economy were insti-tuted by Christ Himself. He was the foundationof their system of sacrificial offerings, the greatantitype of all their religious service. The bloodshed as the sacrifices were offered pointed to thesacrifice of the Lamb of God. All the typical offer-ings were fulfilled in Him.

“Christ as manifested to the patriarchs, as sym-bolized in the sacrificial service, as portrayed inthe law, and as revealed by the prophets, is theriches of the Old Testament. Christ in His life, Hisdeath, and His resurrection, Christ as He is mani-fested by the Holy Spirit, is the treasure of the NewTestament. Our Saviour, the outshining of theFather’s glory, is both the Old and the New.”—Christ’sObject Lessons, 126.

“The glory of the gospel reflects light upon theJewish age, giving significance to the whole Jew-

45

ish economy of types and shadows.”—Evangelism,231.

“Christ was the foundation of the Jewish econ-omy. The whole system of types and symbols wasa compacted prophecy of the gospel, a presenta-tion in which were bound up the promises of re-demption.”—Acts of the Apostles, 14.

“The Saviour of prophecy was to come, not as atemporal king, to deliver the Jewish nation fromearthly oppressors, but as a man among men, tolive a life of poverty and humility, and at last to bedespised, rejected, and slain. The Saviour foretoldin the Old Testament Scriptures was to offer Him-self as a sacrifice in behalf of the fallen race, thusfulfilling every requirement of the broken law. InHim the sacrificial types were to meet theirantitype, and His death on the cross was to lendsignificance to the entire Jewish economy.”—Actsof the Apostles, 227-228.

“Christ’s death and resurrection completed Hiscovenant. Before this time, it was revealed throughtypes and shadows, which pointed to the greatoffering to be made by the world’s Redeemer, of-fered in promise for the sins of the world. Ancientlybelievers were saved by the same Saviour as now,but it was a God veiled. They saw God’s mercy infigures. The promise given to Adam and Eve in Edenwas the gospel to a fallen race. The promise wasmade that the seed of the woman should bruise theserpent’s head, and it should bruise His heel.Christ’s sacrifice is the glorious fulfillment of thewhole Jewish economy. The Sun of Righteousnesshas risen. Christ our righteousness is shining inbrightness upon us.”—7 Bible Commentary, 932.

“Thus the law for the presentation of the first-born was made particularly significant. While it was


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a memorial of the Lord’s wonderful deliverance ofthe children of Israel, it prefigured a greater deliv-erance, to be wrought out by the only-begottenSon of God. As the blood sprinkled on the door-posts had saved the first-born of Israel, so the bloodof Christ has power to save the world.

“God’s people, whom He calls His peculiar trea-sure, were privileged with a twofold system of law;the moral and the ceremonial. The one, pointingback to creation to keep in remembrance the livingGod who made the world, whose claims are bindingupon all men in every dispensation, and which willexist through all time and eternity. The other, givenbecause of man’s transgression of the moral law,the obedience to which consisted in sacrifices andofferings pointing to the future redemption. Eachis clear and distinct from the other.

“From the creation the moral law was an essen-tial part of God’s divine plan, and was as unchange-able as Himself. The ceremonial law was to an-swer a particular purpose in Christ’s plan for thesalvation of the race. The typical system of sacri-fices and offerings was established that throughthese services the sinner might discern the greatoffering, Christ. But the Jews were so blinded bypride and sin that but few of them could see fartherthan the death of beasts as an atonement for sin;and when Christ, whom these offerings prefigured,came, they could not discern Him. The ceremoniallaw was glorious; it was the provision made by JesusChrist in counsel with His Father, to aid in the sal-vation of the race. The whole arrangement of thetypical system was founded on Christ. Adam sawChrist prefigured in the innocent beast sufferingthe penalty of his transgression of Jehovah’s law.”—6 Bible Commentary, 1094-1095 (Review May 6,

47

1875).“The types and shadows of the sacrificial ser-

vice, with the prophecies, gave the Israelites aveiled, indistinct view of the mercy and grace to bebrought to the world by the revelation of Christ. ToMoses was unfolded the significance of the typesand shadows pointing to Christ. He saw to the endof that which was to be done away when, at the deathof Christ, type met antitype. He saw that onlythrough Christ can man keep the moral law. Bytransgression of this law man brought sin into theworld, and with sin came death. Christ became thepropitiation for man’s sin. He proffered His perfec-tion of character in the place of man’s sinfulness.He took upon Himself the curse of disobedience.The sacrifices and offerings pointed forward tothe sacrifice He was to make. The slain lamb typi-fied the Lamb that was to take away the sin of theworld.

“It was seeing the object of that which was tobe done away, seeing Christ as revealed in the law,that illumined the face of Moses. The ministrationof the law, written and engraved in stone, was a min-istration of death. Without Christ, the transgressorwas left under its curse, with no hope of pardon.The ministration had of itself no glory, but the prom-ised Saviour, revealed in the types and shadowsof the ceremonial law, made the moral law glori-ous.”—1 Selected Messages, 237.

“Paul desires his brethren to see that the greatglory of a sin-pardoning Saviour gave significanceto the entire Jewish economy. He desired them tosee also that when Christ came to the world, anddied as man’s sacrifice, type met antitype.

“After Christ died on the cross as a sin offeringthe ceremonial law could have no force. Yet it was


48 The Feast Days

connected with the moral law, and was glorious. Thewhole bore the stamp of divinity, and expressed theholiness, justice, and righteousness of God. And ifthe ministration of the dispensation to be done awaywas glorious, how much more must the reality beglorious, when Christ was revealed, giving His life-giving, sanctifying Spirit to all who believe?”—6 BibleCommentary, 1095.

“The gospel of Christ reflects glory upon the Jew-ish age. It sheds light upon the whole Jewisheconomy, and gives significance to the ceremo-nial law. The tabernacle, or temple, of God on earthwas a pattern of the original in heaven. All the cer-emonies of the Jewish law were prophetic, typi-cal of mysteries in the plan of redemption.

“The rites and ceremonies of the law were givenby Christ Himself, who, enshrouded in a pillar ofcloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, was theleader of the hosts of Israel; and this law should betreated with great respect, for it is sacred. Even af-ter it was no longer to be observed, Paul presentedit before the Jews in its true position and value,showing its place in the plan of redemption and itsrelation to the work of Christ; and the great apostlepronounces this law glorious, worthy of its divineOriginator. That which was to be done away wasglorious, but it was not the law instituted by Godfor the government of His family in heaven and onearth; for as long as the heavens shall remain, solong shall the law of the Lord endure.”—6 BibleCommentary, 1095.

“There is no discord between the Old Testamentand the New. In the Old Testament we find thegospel of a coming Saviour; in the New Testamentwe have the gospel of a Saviour revealed as theprophecies had foretold. While the Old Testament

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is constantly pointing forward to the true offer-ing, the New Testament shows that the Saviour pre-figured by the typical offerings has come. The dimglory of the Jewish age has been succeeded by thebrighter, clearer glory of the Christian age.”—6 BibleCommentary, 1095.

“But there is a law which was abolished, whichChrist ‘took out of the way, nailing it to His cross.’Paul calls it the law of commandments containedin ordinances. This ceremonial law, given by Godthrough Moses, with its sacrifices and ordinances. . was to be binding upon the Hebrews until typemet antitype in the death of Christ as the Lamb ofGod to take away the sin of the world. Then all thesacrificial offerings and services were to be abol-ished. Paul and the other apostles labored to showthis, and resolutely withstood those Judaizingteachers who declared that Christians should ob-serve the ceremonial law.”—Signs, September 4,1884.

THE CIVIL LAWS

The civil laws, given through Moses to the na-tion, were for the civil magistrates to enforce.They were not to be carried out by individuals.

“The statutes and judgments given of God weregood for the obedient. ‘They should live in them.’But they were not good for the transgressor, for inthe civil law given to Moses punishment was tobe inflicted on the transgressor, that others shouldbe restrained by fear.”—3 Spiritual Gifts, 301.

“He [Christ] bids them, ‘Resist not him that isevil: but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek,turn to him the other also.’ These words were but a


50 The Feast Days

reiteration of the teaching of the Old Testament. Itis true that the rule, ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth’(Leviticus 24:20), was a provision in the lawsgiven through Moses; but it was a civil statute.None were justified in avenging themselves, forthey had the words of the Lord: ‘Say not thou, I willrecompense evil.’ ‘Say not, I will do so to him as hehath done to me.’ ‘Rejoice not when thine enemyfalleth.’ ”—Mount of Blessing, 70.

OTHER JEWISH ORDINANCES

There were other Jewish regulations whichwould have to be kept by anyone wishing to re-turn to all the non-sacrificial Mosaic regulations.

If you are going to return to a position underthat system of old laws, you must obey each ofthem fully.

“Now we know that what things soever the lawsaith, it saith to them who are under the law.”—Romans 3:19.For example, you must not boil the kid in its

mother’s milk (Ex 34:26). People with certain physi-cal injuries could never go to church. Manslayerscould be slain by the next of kin (Num 35:12). Slavescould be owned, and have holes punched in theirears if they wanted to remain with their masters(Deut 15:16-17). People were brought to the priestfor his inspection of possible leprosy spots (Lev 13).

Some of the other statutes include these: InLeviticus 7:34, the priests were to receive parts ofthe animal sacrifices for their sustenance. In Exo-dus 30:19-21, the priests were to wash their hands

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and feet when they went into the tabernacle. InLeviticus 19:27, 37, the people were not to cut thecorners of their beards. In Numbers 15:38, 39, thepeople were to wear a ribbon of blue on the bordersof their garments. These were all called ordinances,sometimes called statues.

I suggest that the above statutes do not am-plify on the Ten Commandments, as do the moralstatutes in Exodus 21-22.

THE WHOLE SYSTEM

The “entire system” came to its end at Cal-vary.

“With the great sacrifice offered upon Calvary,ended that system of offerings which for four thou-sand years had pointed forward to the Lamb of God.Type had met antitype, and all the sacrifices andoblations of the ceremonial system were there tocease.”—Great Controversy, 327-328.

“He would thus bring to an end the system oftypes and ceremonies that for four thousand yearshad pointed to His death.”—Desire of Ages, 652.

“Christ was the foundation of the Jewish econ-omy. The whole system of types and symbols wasa compacted prophecy of the gospel, a presenta-tion in which were bound up the promises of re-demption.”—Acts of the Apostles, 14.

“Without the death of Christ all this systemwas meaningless.”—6 Bible Commentary, 1097.

“They were rejecting Him who was the antitypeof all that system.”—Acts of the Apostles, 452.This whole system included circumcision, and

similar statutes, which did not directly fore-


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shadow the death of Christ:

CIRCUMCISION

It is an intriguing fact that circumcision was akey issue in the crisis in the early Christianchurch; yet, although it was done away with,—ithad not prefigured Christ’s death. Instead, itsymbolized dedication of the life to God. This helpsus understand why other Mosaic ordinances—which did not appear to foreshadow Christ’sdeath—were also abolished at Calvary.

“When the brethren in Judea heard that Peter hadgone to the house of a Gentile and preached to thoseassembled, they were surprised and offended . . Pe-ter laid the whole matter before them. He relatedhis experience in regard to the vision and pleadedthat it admonished him to observe no longer theceremonial distinction of circumcision anduncircumcision, nor to look upon the Gentiles asunclean.”—Acts of the Apostles, 141.

“They [the Gentiles] were also to be assuredthat the men who had declared circumcision tobe binding were not authorized to do so by theapostles.”—Acts of the Apostles, 195.

“The door that many of the Jewish converts hadclosed against the Gentiles was now to be thrownopen. And the Gentiles who accepted the gospelwere to be regarded as on an equality with theJewish disciples, without the necessity of observ-ing the rite of circumcision.”—Acts of the Apostles,136.Circumcision was the central issue fought over

by Judaizing Christians. They were determined that

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it be practiced by Gentile believers. Yet it, and alarge number of other Mosaic ordinances, were“nailed to the cross.”

Circumcision represented a pledge to fulfill theconditions of God’s covenant (SR 146) and not tointermarry with other nations (3SG 297). It was apledge to obey God’s law (DA 50; PP 363) and re-main free from idolatry (PP 363; 3SG 297). It was asign of our acceptance of the covenant of redemp-tion (PP 364; 485; SR 147), devotion to God’s ser-vice (PP 138, 363), and separation from idolatry (PP138; SR 146-147). It would have been unnecessaryif men had kept God’s law (PP 364).

—Not once are we told that circumstancesprefigured (foreshadowed) the death of Christ!

This is a powerful proof that many things inthe ceremonial law, which did not appear to betypes of the death of Christ, were also abolishedby His death. This is why we are told:

“Christ’s death was the glorious fulfillment of thewhole Jewish economy.”—7 Bible Commentary,932.

“There were those in Paul’s day who were con-stantly dwelling upon circumcision, and theycould bring plenty of proof from the Bible to showits obligation on the Jews; but this teaching was ofno consequence at this time; for Christ had diedupon Calvary’s cross, and circumcision in theflesh could not be of any further value.

“The typical service and the ceremonies con-nected with it were abolished at the cross. Thegreat antitypical Lamb of God had become an offer-ing for guilty man, and the shadow ceased in thesubstance. Paul was seeking to bring the minds of


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men to the great truth for the time; but these whoclaimed to be followers of Jesus were wholly ab-sorbed in teaching the tradition of the Jews, andthe obligation of circumcision.”—6 Bible Commen-tary, 1061.The above quotation clearly shows that all the

ceremonial laws, including circumcision andother things, were eliminated at the cross. All ofthe “ceremonies” connected with the “typical ser-vice” were “abolished.” This clearly included thefeast day ceremonies, which involved sacrifices andother rituals at the Temple.

It is because the entire system has been sweptaway that we are not given one statement—any-where in the New Testament or Spirit of Proph-ecy—that we are required to keep the feast daystoday.

It cannot be said that the keeping of the Feast ofTabernacles is an exception,—for if so, then we mustsacrifice a lamb on each of the eight feast days! Wecan go to camp meetings today, but we are not toactually keep the Feast of Tabernacles!

It is when we study what occurred at theJerusalem Council, that we can better understandthe will of God in this matter.

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek thosethings which are above, where Christsitteth on the right hand of God. Set youraffection on things above, not on things onthe earth.” —Colossians 3:1-2

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- PART FOUR -

ADDITIONALINFORMATION

THE COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM

The question that is being raised before ourpeople, at this time in history, is whether it isnecessary to keep all or part of the Mosaic law.That was the central issue at the Jerusalem Coun-cil. Through the guidance of God, that questionwas fully settled at that time. You will find it care-fully discussed in Acts 15:1-29 and Acts of theApostles, Chapter 19 (pp. 188-200).

Although it is true that circumcision was animportant point in the discussion, the decisionwas made regarding all the ceremonial laws, notjust circumcision!

Very important principles are presented in thatchapter. Notice in the following quotations, that sev-eral times Ellen White states that, because the sac-rificial laws, which prefigured the death of Christ,were fulfilled at Calvary,—therefore all the Jew-ish rites and ceremonies ended at that time—even though she is careful to say that they allforeshadowed, prefigured His death.

“The Jews had always prided themselves upontheir divinely appointed services, and many of thosewho had been converted to the faith of Christ stillfelt that since God had once clearly outlined theHebrew manner of worship, it was improbable that

Additional Information

56 The Feast Days

He would ever authorize a change in any of its speci-fications. They insisted that the Jewish laws andceremonies should be incorporated into the ritesof the Christian religion. They were slow to dis-cern that all the sacrificial offerings had but prefig-ured the death of the Son of God, in which type metantitype, and after which the rites and ceremo-nies of the Mosaic dispensation were no longerbinding.”—Acts of the Apostles, 189.

“At Jerusalem the delegates from Antioch met thebrethren of the various churches, who had gatheredfor a general meeting, and to them they related thesuccess that had attended their ministry among theGentiles. They then gave a clear outline of theconfusion that had resulted because certain con-verted Pharisees had gone to Antioch declaringthat, in order to be saved, the Gentile convertsmust be circumcised and keep the law ofMoses.”—Acts of the Apostles, 190, 191.

“The Jews therefore held it as highly properthat circumcision and the observance of the cer-emonial law should be enjoined on the Gentileconverts as a test of their sincerity and devotion.”—Acts of the Apostles, 192.

“The various points involved in the settlement ofthe main question at issue seemed to present be-fore the council insurmountable difficulties. But theHoly Spirit had, in reality, already settled thisquestion, upon the decision of which seemed todepend the prosperity, if not the very existence, ofthe Christian church.”—Acts of the Apostles, 192[emphasis ours].

“Peter then rose up and retold the story of howthe Lord, in a vision, directed him to visit a Gentilefamily, and the remarkable way that God showedhim that they were fully accepted by God—even be-

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fore they were baptized and had started obeying anyof the Jewish ceremonies.

“He reasoned that the Holy Spirit had decidedthe matter under dispute by descending withequal power upon the uncircumcised Gentiles andthe circumcised Jews . . [God had then told him],‘What God hath cleansed, that call not thou com-mon.’ Acts 10:15.”—Acts of the Apostles, 192-193.

Then Peter said this to the assembly:“ ‘Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a

yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which nei-ther our fathers nor we were able to bear?’

“This yoke was not the law of Ten Command-ments, as some who oppose the binding claims ofthe law assert; Peter here referred to the law ofceremonies, which was made null and void bythe crucifixion of Christ.”—Acts of the Apostles,194.

Then we are given these remarkable state-ments:

“The Holy Spirit saw good not to impose theceremonial law on the Gentile converts, and themind of the apostles regarding this matter wasas the mind of the Spirit of God.

“James presided at the council, and his final de-cision was, ‘Wherefore my sentence is, that wetrouble not them, which from among the Gentilesare turned to God.’ This ended the discussion.”—Acts of the Apostles, 194 [emphasis ours].

“As a result of their deliberations they all sawthat God Himself had answered the question atissue by bestowing upon the Gentiles the Holy Ghost;and they realized that it was their part to followthe guidance of the Spirit.”—Acts of the Apostles,


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196.“The broad and far-reaching decisions of the

general council brought confidence into the ranksof the Gentile believers, and the cause of Godprospered.”—Acts of the Apostles, 197.

Will you and I today accept what the HolySpirit taught the early Apostles that day? Or willwe rebel, and try to make yokes for the believers’necks?

Why are they yokes? Because false teachersturn them into yokes, binding them about the be-lievers with ropes of false teachings and exactionswhich grind them down in continued worry aboutguilt from transgression, they neglect to give thetrue final message to our time in history. This wasthe method of Rome: Keep the people boundaround with unnecessary regulations; and then,when they violate them (as they will do), theywill be more dependent on their religious leaderswhich they financially support. Priestcraft has beena curse for thousands of years.

As a result, Satan tempts believers to think thattheir feast keeping is partially saving them.

Another tragedy is that, when Sabbath keep-ers return to feast keeping, the world is far lesslikely to accept the Sabbath truth! They dismissthat special truth with the comment, “The conductof those people, in returning to the old Jewishlaws, proves that the Sabbath is an old Jewishritual!”

Here is another view of the Acts 15 Council:“The question thus brought under the consider-

ation of the council seemed to present insurmount-

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able difficulties, viewed in whatever light. But theHoly Ghost had, in reality, already settled thisproblem, upon the decision of which dependedthe prosperity, and even the existence, of theChristian church. Grace, wisdom, and sanctifiedjudgment were given to the apostles to decide thevexed question.

“Peter reasoned that the Holy Ghost had de-cided the matter by descending with equal powerupon the uncircumcised Gentiles and the circum-cised Jews. He recounted his vision, in which Godhad presented before him a sheet filled with allmanner of four-footed beasts, and had bidden himkill and eat; that when he had refused, affirmingthat he had never eaten that which was common orunclean, God had said, ‘What God hath cleansed,that call not thou common.’

“He said, ‘God, which knoweth the hearts, barethem witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even asHe did unto us; and put no difference between usand them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now there-fore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon theneck of the disciples, which neither our fathersnor we were able to bear?’

“This yoke was not the law of the Ten Command-ments, as those who oppose the binding claim ofthe law assert; but Peter referred to the law of cer-emonies, which was made null and void by the cru-cifixion of Christ. This address of Peter brought theassembly to a point where they could listen withreason to Paul and Barnabas, who related their ex-perience in working among the Gentiles.

“James bore his testimony with decision—thatGod designed to bring in the Gentiles to enjoy allthe privileges of the Jews. The Holy Ghost sawgood not to impose the ceremonial law on the


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Gentile converts; and the apostles and elders, af-ter careful investigation of the subject, saw the mat-ter in the same light, and their mind was as themind of the Spirit of God. James presided at thecouncil, and his final decision was, ‘Wherefore mysentence is, that we trouble not them, which fromamong the Gentiles are turned to God.’

“It was his sentence that the ceremonial law, andespecially the ordinance of circumcision, be notin any wise urged upon the Gentiles, or even rec-ommended to them. James sought to impress thefact upon his brethren that the Gentiles, in turningto God from idolatry, made a great change in theirfaith; and that much caution should be used notto trouble their minds with perplexing and doubt-ful questions, lest they be discouraged in followingChrist.”—Story of Redemption, 306-308 [empha-sis ours].

Here is a third statement about the meaningof that Council:

“Paul . . describes the visit which he made toJerusalem to secure a settlement of the very ques-tions which are now agitating the churches ofGalatia, as to whether the Gentiles should submitto circumcision and keep the ceremonial law . .and won from all a concurrence in the decision toleave the Gentiles free from the obligations of theceremonial law.”—6 Bible Commentary, 1108.

CAN WE KEEPTHE CEREMONIAL LAWS

SPIRITUALLY?

It is claimed that God requires that we keepthe ceremonial laws “spiritually” today. We are

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told that Ellen White’s statement about the Feast ofTrumpets proves that we must do this.

This is not true. Here are the facts about this:Ellen White’s encouragement, to make camp

meeting gatherings a time of rejoicing like the an-cient Feast of Tabernacles, is quite different.

First, she did not say to actually keep themthe way they were done anciently. All she saidwas to make our gatherings a time of rejoicing.Second, she did not say it was a command fromGod, but only a suggestion.

Second, when God commands us to keep alaw, we are to keep it fully. If the ceremonial lawsare still in effect, we are to keep them—in the man-ner as originally required. “The man which doeththose things shall live by them” (Rom 10:5). If youdo not do all the details specified, you are notobeying the laws contained in ordinances.

Someone might ask, “Does it not say somewherein the Old Testament that we need only partially obeythe ceremonial laws?” No, never.

Some people try to obey parts of the ceremo-nial laws literally, while spiritualizing away por-tions they want to avoid. That is not strict obedi-ence to the Old Testament commands of God onthe ceremonial laws.

The statutes and judgments included regulationsrequiring people to kill their gluttonous sons, andstone to death certain other people. If you are goingto “keep the ceremonial laws,” you must do this also.

Another question: “Can we not just keep all ofthe ceremonial laws in principle, and none of it inreality?” The answer is that you fully satisfy all of


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the requirements, in principle, by keeping theTen Commandments. That covers it. When theMoral Law is obeyed in the strength that Christprovides, we are living a clean, godly life and pre-paring for heaven.

CAN WE KEEPTHE FEAST DAYS

SPIRITUALLY?

The theory that we are today required to at-tend special gatherings, to keep the feast days“spiritually,” is another error which is beingtaught.

First, we are not to invent new religious testsand practices. We are to do exactly what God toldus to do. He instructed us to put away sin and givethe Third Angel’s Message—which means to warnthe world about the coming crisis over the Sundaylaw, and urge them to keep the Bible Sabbath andthe Ten Commandments. Talk to the people, handthem books, pray for them! This is our assignedwork! Let us not add a collection of new spiritualrequirements. Our people do not need an additionalweight of things they must do!

Second, nowhere in the Bible or Spirit ofProphecy are we told to ‘keep the feast days spiri-tually.’ The only exception is that we are encour-aged to joyfully attend our gatherings with one an-other, the way the Israelites rejoiced at the ancientFeast of Tabernacles. But that is not a new duty.God’s people have been meeting together to wor-

63

ship and praise Him for thousands of years.Third, in order to keep the Passover spiritu-

ally, we would need to do something at that gath-ering which symbolized the offering of the Pass-over lamb. The same with all the other feasts. Oth-erwise these would not be feast days. It was the sac-rifice of an animal which made them feast days.Without these sacrifices, they had no meaning norreason for existence.

Fourth, the reason for their existence endedat Calvary! Never, after that, were we commandedto keep the feast days.

Fifth, if we are going to “spiritually” keep thefeast days now, for their supposed “religious ben-efits,” we should attend all of them each year.But this would add another burden of religious du-ties to our lives, and keep us from our work of giv-ing the Third Angel’s Message to the world. Ourmessage to fellow believers would become, “Keepthe feast days!”

PREPARING TO KEEPTHE FEAST DAYS

The only time in history that God’s people weretold to “keep the feast days,” they were, at the sametime, given detailed instructions on how each onewas to be kept.

Those who today wish to return to obedienceto that law are required to keep them in the sameway as originally done. Here is part of what youmust do:

You must begin your year in the spring by sight-


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ing, from a mountain top, the first moon after thewinter solstice. You must bring the first fruits of theproper crops for three of those feasts, and not har-vest the remainder of the crop until these are of-fered to the Lord. You must raise or have access toperfectly healthy lambs, kids, and bulls which youcan check over before purchasing. You must, on thecorrect days in this special calendar, hold each ofyour feast days and fulfill each of the following speci-fications:

Passover (Ex 12:2-6), Unleavened bread (Ex23:6-8), First Fruits (Ex 23:10-14), Pentecost (Ex23:15-21), Trumpets (Ex 23:24-25), Day of Atone-ment (Ex 23:27-31; Leviticus 16), and Feast of Tab-ernacles (Lev 23:34-36, 39-43).

We are told that “more than a month of everyyear must have been occupied in attendance uponthe annual feasts” (PP 541).

A BASIC REQUIREMENTAT EACH FEAST

Leviticus 23:37 summarizes what is to bedone at each of the seven feasts!

“These are the feasts of the Lord, which ye shallproclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offer-ing made by fire unto the Lord, a burnt offering,and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings,every thing upon his day.”—Leviticus 23:37.At least one blood offering is to be offered

at each of the seven feasts!Here are several examples: At the Passover (1

sacrifice): “your lamb . . without blemish, a male of

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the first year . . from the sheep or the goats” (Ex12:5). At the Feast of Unleavened Bread (7 sacri-fices): “an offering made by fire unto the Lord sevendays” (Lev 23:6-8). Feast of First Fruits (1 sacri-fice): “your lamb without blemish of the first year”(Lev 23:12). At the Feast of Pentecost (13 sacri-fices): “seven lambs without blemish of the first year,and one young bullock, and two rams” (Lev 23:18),plus “one kid of the goats . . and two lambs of thefirst year” (Lev 23:19). At the Feast of Trumpets (1sacrifice): “an offering made by fire” (Lev 23:25).At the Day of Atonement (3 sacrifices): “a youngbullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burntoffering” (Lev 16:5-6), and “the goat of the sin offer-ing” (Lev 23:15). At the Feast of Tabernacles (8sacrifices): “seven days ye shall offer an offeringmade by fire, . . on the eighth day . . ye shall offer anoffering made by fire” (Lev 23:36).

—A total of 34 animals have to be offeredas burnt offerings at the yearly feasts!

The 17 verses of Leviticus, chapter 1, explainsin detail how to offer a burnt offering. You willneed this information. Be sure to follow it care-fully.

THE IMPORTANCE OFEXACT OBEDIENCE

It is extremely important that you understandthat, if you are going to return to obedience toany of the Levitical laws (which included the feastdays, since the Levites were in charge of them),you must obey the written requirements for how


66 The Feast Days

to conduct them exactly.“Now we know that what things soever the law

saith, it saith to them who are under the law.”—Romans 3:19.Here are several statements by M.L. Andreasen

which clarify the importance of this:“God wants order in His work. He gives specific

directions regarding this. The wood is to be laid ‘inorder upon the fire,’ not merely piled up. The piecesof the animal are to be laid ‘in order on the wood,’not just thrown somewhere on the fire (Lev 1:7-8,12). Order is heaven’s first law. ‘God is not the au-thor of confusion.’ He wants His people to do things‘decently and in order’ ” (1 Corinthians 14:33, 40).

“Another important lesson is that of cleanliness.Before the pieces of the animal were burned on thealtar, ‘his inwards and his legs’ were to be washedin water (Lev 1:9). This would seem unnecessary.These pieces were to be consumed on the altar. Itwas merely a waste of time to wash them beforeburning them. Such, however, is not God’s reason-ing. The command is, Wash each piece; nothing un-clean must come upon the altar. And so the pieceswere washed and carefully laid in order on the wood,which was laid in order on the altar.”—M.L.Andreasen, The Sanctuary Service, pp. 91-92.It is therefore extremely important that, be-

fore you hold one of the feasts, that you planahead and make careful advance preparations;so you will only offer a perfect animal, without blem-ish, and that you will offer it in the proper way. Godis not very pleased with partial obedience.

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25 ERRORSWHICH ARE BEING TAUGHT !

NONE - NOT ONE - OF THE FOLLOWINGERRORS ARE TO BE FOUND

IN THE BIBLEOR SPIRIT OF PROPHECY !!

Error: 1 - It is being taught that we must keepall the Feast Days.

There is no statement in the Spirit of Proph-ecy that says that. The one passage, quoted earlier(PP 540-542), recommends a gathering for thanks-giving, akin to rejoicing at the ancient Feast of Tab-ernacles. But that is the only passage along this line.

It is dangerous to add to the Inspired Word ofGod or begin doing things which God has not com-manded, in the hope that doing so will help makeus more righteous.

The following passage concerns copying the er-rors of Rome. But it would also apply to any effortto add practices forbidden by the Word of God:

“The English Reformers, while renouncing thedoctrines of Romanism, had retained many of itsforms. Thus though the authority and the creed ofRome were rejected, not a few of her customs andceremonies were incorporated into the worship ofthe Church of England. It was claimed that thesethings were not matters of conscience; that thoughthey were not commanded in Scripture, and hencewere nonessential, yet not being forbidden, theywere not intrinsically evil. Their observance tendedto narrow the gulf which separated the reformed


68 The Feast Days

churches from Rome, and it was urged that theywould promote the acceptance of the Protestant faithby Romanists.

“To the conservative and compromising, thesearguments seemed conclusive. But there was anotherclass that did not so judge. The fact that these cus-toms ‘tended to bridge over the chasm between Romeand the Reformation’. . was in their view a conclu-sive argument against retaining them. They lookedupon them as badges of the slavery from which theyhad been delivered and to which they had no dispo-sition to return. They reasoned that God has inHis Word established the regulations governingHis worship, and that men are not at liberty toadd to these or to detract from them.

“The very beginning of the great apostasy wasin seeking to supplement the authority of God bythat of the church. Rome began by enjoiningwhat God had not forbidden, and she ended byforbidding what He had explicitly enjoined.”—Great Controversy, 289-290.

Far worse: There are Advent believers todaywho are returning to doing that which God hasexplicitly forbidden!

Error: 2 - False teachers are declaring thatthe seventh-day Sabbath is one of the feast days!This error is being taught in order to exalt the an-nual feast days as gatherings which God equally re-quires us to keep today as a condition of salvation.

The seventh-day Sabbath is a weekly Sabbath—the only one ever given by the God of heaven tomankind. It is the memorial of Creation, extremelyimportant; and it is embedded in the heart of theTen Commandment law and, written on rock, was

69

placed in the ark.But the feasts were yearly “sabbaths” (Lev

23:38). They were in no way equal to the holy Sab-bath, which we observe in honor of our Creator.Written on paper or animal skins, the instructionsfor these feasts was never placed inside the ark. Itwould have been abomination to do that.

It is abomination for any false preacher todayto suggest that they are equal to the seventh-daySabbath.

In addition, there is a distinction between thesabbaths and the Sabbath in Leviticus 23. Verse 2,speaking about the feast days, refers to them asmo’ed (“the appointed times”), while verse 3 includesthe Sabbath as another “holy convocation.” But thesimilarity stops there. There is no other way thatthey are alike. On the Sabbath “no work” is to bedone (Lev 23:3), while on the feast sabbaths “noservile work” is to be done (Lev 23:7, etc.).

In an attempt to exalt the feast days, these falseteachers are willing to downgrade the Sabbath.

Error: 3 - It is claimed that the feast days areequal in every sense to the seventh-day Sabbath,—and God commands us to obey them today. Whereis that command found? Not in the Bible or Spiritof Prophecy. Where is the claimed equality to befound? Not in God’s Word.

Error: 4 - It is claimed that because the feastdays are found in a few Bible chapters with theSabbath,—therefore it is as impossible for thefeast days to pass away as it is for the Sabbath toend.

The primary evidence for this is Leviticus 23,


70 The Feast Days

where both are mentioned. But looking carefully atthis chapter, we find that the Sabbath is mentionedonly to point out that it is different than the feastdays! After noting the special aspects of the weeklySabbath (Lev 23:3), the next verse begins:

“These are the feasts [the feasts now to be listed]of the Lord, even holy convocations, which ye shallproclaim in their seasons.”—Leviticus 23:4.Then, in verse 5, the list of feasts begins, and

continues on through verse 36. Verse 37 summa-rizes the essential parts of each of the feasts.Notice that the emphasis is on blood and otherofferings at the feasts! The feasts—all of them—are definitely focused on blood sacrifices.

Then, in verse 38, the Sabbath is again men-tioned—to once again point out that it is separatefrom the feast days. Notice how it is set apart fromthe feasts: “Besides the sabbaths” (and “besides”several other things mentioned in verse 38). This isdone because the yearly feast days are also periodsof rest and are sometimes referred to as “sabbaths”(which means “rest”). It is because the same He-brew word is used for both, that Leviticus 23:3 and37 are inserted—to clearly differentiate between theweekly Sabbath in the Ten Commandments and the“yearly sabbaths”—the feast days.

After verse 38, additional information is givenabout the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev 23:39-42).

Error: 5 - It is claimed that the feast days weregiven to remind us of the solemnity of the sev-enth-day Sabbath.

No evidence of any kind is given to support thisclaim. Because of their sacrifices, offered everyday,

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the feast days pointed the Israelites to the death ofChrist. This objective is summarized in Leviticus23:37. But the Sabbath points us to our Creator.This purpose is stated in Exodus 20:8-11.

Error: 6 - It is claimed that the seven feastdays were kept by the angels in heaven beforeLucifer fell, and that they were given to Adambefore he sinned!

This claim is based on the Hebrew word, mo’ed;this can have a variety of meanings, including “ap-pointment, congregation, appointed time, or assem-bly.” It is completely improper to assume that wher-ever mo’ed is used, it refers to the annual feasts!The meaning varies according to the context andthe subject discussed.

Just because God called together the angelsin heaven for a meeting—does not mean that theywere celebrating one of the feast days! Seriously,this is ridiculous. If they did that, they were kill-ing animals in heaven before the fall of Lucifer!These preachers try to find feast days in every imag-inable place!

Error: 7 - The error is further being taught thatthe feast days are also part of the plan of redemp-tion and, therefore, were told to Adam as soon hesinned that day.

These are all wild theories, without any basisin Scripture. There is no evidence that any of thefeasts existed before the Israelites arrived atMount Sinai. The word, mo’ed, cannot be used toprove their existence.

The Passover began with the tenth plague in


72 The Feast Days

Egypt (Ex 12); and its purpose was to commemo-rate their deliverance from slavery. The Day ofAtonement was not given until after Moses went upinto the mount (Ex 24:18) and brought down theinstructions for building the tabernacle (Ex 25-40).Then they were told about the typical day of atone-ment (Lev 16), which was the terminal event of theyearly cycle connected with the tabernacle and thehigh priest. The Feast of Tabernacles pointed totheir rest in Canaan after their enemies were de-stroyed. All the feasts were connected with theHebrew people, beginning at Sinai. There is noevidence of their existence before Moses; andthere is not one mention that the keeping of anyone of the feasts was a salvation requirement af-ter Calvary.

Error: 8 - It is being taught that Jesus kept theannual feasts—and traveled about, urging every-one to attend them! Here is the sentence, used inan attempt to prove that assertion:

“Jesus traveled up and down the breadth of theland, giving His invitation to the feast.”—Review,July 7, 1896.This is obviously the gospel feast, the gospel in-

vitation. In the same paragraph we are told:“Jesus said to the throng, ‘I am the light of the

world. He that followeth Me shall not walk in dark-ness, but have the light of life.’ ”—Ibid.Christ came to our world to draw our attention

to Himself and salvation in Him. It was not Christ’swork, while on earth, to increase attendance atthe yearly feast days!

In reality, Christ recognized that His end was

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near—when all the feast days would become obso-lete. They were of even less importance than earlierin history!

“Since the healing at Bethesda, He had not at-tended the national gatherings . . His apparent ne-glect of the great religious assemblies . . He Himselfseemed to be indifferent to the service which hadbeen divinely established.”—Desire of Ages, 450.

Error: 9 - It is claimed that only the sacrificesended, but all the feast days are to continue tothe end of time; and then all will continue to bekept in heaven. Not one Inspired statement is givenin support of that claim.

Why do men make such false and misleadingstatements? It is done so they can obtain a follow-ing who will support them, so they can spread theiruntruths still farther—and confuse still more ofGod’s faithful ones.

Read this!“After the crucifixion, it was a denial of Christ

for the Jews to continue to offer the burnt offer-ings and sacrifices which were typical of Hisdeath.”—Signs, July 29, 1886.When Christ died, God chose to abolish the

entire keeping of feasts, along with the sacrificeswhich were daily offered during them.

Error: 10 - The claim is made that the feastscan be separated from the sacrifices. The Hebrewword, chaq, is one of the words by which all thefeasts are called. It literally refers to the sacrificialvictim (Ex 23:18). This implies that the feasts wereextensions of the sacrificial animals, and could


74 The Feast Days

not exist without the sacrifices.Regular sacrificial offerings were made at each

of the feasts, plus, frequently, special ones in addi-tion. The blood offerings were part of the feasts!

This was the primary purpose of the feasts: tocall the people together so they could be taughtthat the sacrifices pointed forward to the Lambof God who would die for the sins of the world.

Error: 11 - The claim is made that the feastscan be kept in their entirety anywhere. But thiscannot be done. According to the Mosaic ordi-nances, it was required that the feasts be observedat the Tabernacle (and later at the Temple inJerusalem).

It was for this reason that the Jews never keptthe feasts while in Babylonian captivity. After A.D.70, not even the Jews have kept any of the feasts,because the Temple had been destroyed and theyhave not been able to do so. This is why Jews donot keep the feasts today.

(The day after the Israelites took over Old Jerusa-lem in 1967, after the Six Day War, their leader im-mediately announced that the Palestinians wouldbe given control of the Temple Mount. He did this toavoid an uprising of Moslems in many lands. Buthis edict spelled doom for the hope of ever rebuild-ing the Temple before the return of Christ.)

It is also of interest that, by the original ordi-nance, as directed by God, the feasts were closelytied to the Israelite agricultural calendar, whichhad a thirteenth month added when needed. Ourcalendar is different today; for it is not based on asighting of the moon in the early spring, as the sig-

75

nal to start the new year. Certain crops had to beraised and offered at certain feasts. Only certainanimals, free from imperfections could be offered.A great deal was involved in properly keeping oneof the ancient Hebrew feasts, and keeping eachone at the correct time.

Error: 12 - It is claimed that Leviticus 23:14proves the feast days will be kept “forever.”

“And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn,nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye havebrought an offering unto your God: it shall be a stat-ute forever throughout your generations in all yourdwellings.”—Leviticus 23:14.That verse, referring to the Feast of First Fruits

(barley harvest), says the ceremony “shall be a stat-ute forever throughout your generations in all yourdwellings.” It tells what the Israelites could not eatuntil they had brought in the barley harvest offer-ing.

Our people are well-aware of the fact that “for-ever” in the Bible should very often not be trans-lated “forever” but, instead, “as long as a certainsituation exists.” The word does not mean that what-ever it is describing will never come to its end (seeEx 27:21; Lev 7:36; 10:9; 17:7; Num 10:8; 15:15;18:23; etc.). A fire (such as hellfire) comes to itsend when whatever it is consuming is burned up,and thus the fire extinguishes itself. Feasts come totheir end when what they point to arrives. The typemeets the antitype.

The Feast of First Fruits was held in connectionwith the Passover (Lev 23:10-14), and occurred onthe day after the Feast of Unleavened Bread began.


76 The Feast Days

These occasions were part of the Passover celebra-tion. But all this ended at Calvary. Christ is thefirst fruits of the dead!

“All the ceremonies of the feast were types ofthe work of Christ. The deliverance of Israel fromEgypt was an object lesson of redemption, whichthe Passover was intended to keep in memory. Theslain lamb, the unleavened bread, the sheaf offirst fruits, represented the Saviour.”—Desire ofAges, 77.

“Christ arose from the dead as the first fruitsof those that slept. He was the antitype of thewave sheaf, and His resurrection took place onthe very day when the wave sheaf was to be pre-sented before the Lord. For more than a thousandyears this symbolic ceremony had been performed.

“From the harvest fields the first heads of rip-ened grain were gathered, and when the people wentup to Jerusalem to the Passover, the sheaf of firstfruits was waved as a thank offering before the Lord.Not until this was presented could the sickle be putto the grain, and it be gathered into sheaves. Thesheaf dedicated to God represented the harvest. SoChrist the first fruits represented the great spiri-tual harvest to be gathered for the kingdom ofGod. His resurrection is the type and pledge of theresurrection of all the righteous dead.”—Desire ofAges, 785-786.

Error: 13 - It is claimed that the feasts are in-cluded in the “Statutes and Judgments.” This isnot true. The Spirit of Prophecy is very clear thatthe only “statutes” we are now to obey are the moralstatutes which explain the Ten Commandments inmore detail. The feast days do not do this. They arefeasts heavily preoccupied with the offering of blood

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sacrifices.Because each feast was centered around the

blood offerings, the feast days explain the deathof Christ more fully. They do not explain the TenCommandments more fully, as do the moral stat-utes. This was discussed more fully earlier.

Error: 14 - It is claimed that whenever “stat-utes” is used in the Bible, it means “feast days”or “feast day festivals.”

As we have learned earlier, the statutes and judg-ments, explained in Exodus 21-22, are not part ofeither the moral law of Ten Commandments, nor ofthe ceremonial law of types and shadows (whichincluded the feast days with their sacrifices). Thestatutes and judgments explain and enforce themoral law, while having no relationship to the cer-emonial law. They are principles of human conduct.These principles will apply as long as time remains.

In contrast, the feast days were shadow lawspointing toward the cross.

Error: 15 - It is claimed that, because Malachi4:4 tells us to remember the “statutes and judg-ments,” we should keep the feast days today.

This is the verse:“Remember ye the law of Moses My servant, which

I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, withthe statutes and judgments.”—Malachi 4:4.Earlier in this book we discovered the truth of

this: First, and foremost, we are to keep the TenCommandments (Ex 20). Second, we are to keepthe moral statutes and judgments, which affectour conduct toward one another (Ex 21-22). But


78 The Feast Days

the feast days (Lev 23) are not part of the statutesand judgments.

The feast days were given to foreshadow thedeath of Christ; whereas the statutes and judgmentswere given to guard the Ten Commandments (Re-view, May 6, 1875, quoted earlier in the chapteron “Statutes and Judgments”).

Error: 16 - It is claimed that Daniel 7:25 isabout the feast days! It is claimed that, by thisfalse teaching, the papacy (little horn) would notonly stop the early Christian church from keep-ing the Bible Sabbath (true), but also from keep-ing the feast days (false)! There is no historicalevidence anywhere that the early Christian churchkept any of the feast days! They obeyed the decisionin Acts 15, which said that God’s people should nolonger keep those ceremonial laws.

In support of this claim, one false teacher quotesthe New Catholic Translation of the Bible, whichattempts to hide the papacy’s identity in changingthe Sabbath, by this translation: “. . thinking tochange the feast days and the law.” These false teach-ers are willing to unite with the Catholics in down-grading the Sabbath and the work of the papacy, ifthat will help them win paying followers!

Error: 17 - This is a variant on the above error.It is claimed that “times” in Daniel 7:25 comesfrom a Chaldean (Babylonian) word for “seasons.”Therefore, Daniel 7:25 predicted that Romewould, along with the Sabbath, take away the feastdays!

First, “seasons” does not mean “feast days.” The

79

word, zinnim, is a standard word for “fixed time,”and has no relationship to Jewish feasts. Second,there is no evidence anywhere in history that theCatholic church abolished the Old Testament feastdays.

Error: 18 - It is claimed that Genesis 1:14should be translated “feast days.”

“And God said, Let there be lights in the firma-ment of the heaven to divide the day from the night;and let them be for signs, and for seasons (and forfeast days), and for days, and years.”—Genesis1:14.This is another attempt to place the origin of

the feast days back before the creation of ourworld! This error is based on the theory that “sea-sons” (mo’ed) means “festivals.”

Many of the errors of the false teachers are basedon a misinterpretation of mo’ed. They desperatelysearch in every nook and corner of the Old Testa-ment, trying to find things which they can call “feastdays.”

Mo’ed is used to express the time of the yearwhen birds migrate (Jer 8:7; Gen 17:21) or whengrapes are ready for harvest (Hos 2:9). But manysuch passages are translated as “feast days” by thesefalse teachers.

How are the sun, moon, and stars for “signs”and “seasons”? The sun tells us when it is day and(by the winter solstice) when a year begins. The moontells us when months begin. There is nothing aboutfeast days in Genesis 1:14.

Error: 19 - Another claim is that the statement,“At the commencement of the time of trouble . .


80 The Feast Days

we proclaimed the Sabbath more fully” (EW, 33),proves that the Sabbath includes the feast days!This is really scraping the bottom of the barrel, in adesperate attempt to find something which supportstheir theory that the Sabbath includes the feast days.

Error: 20 - It is claimed that Christ said Hewould eat the Passover with us in heaven! Such astatement is in direct opposition to all the Spirit ofProphecy statements, quoted elsewhere in this book,which say that the Passover ended at Calvary.

“He [Christ] would thus bring to an end thesystem of types and ceremonies that for four thou-sand years had pointed to His death. As He atethe Passover with His disciples, He instituted in itsplace the service that was to be the memorial of Hisgreat sacrifice. The national festival of the Jewswas to pass away forever.”—Desire of Ages, 652.What could be clearer than the above quotation?

“When the Saviour yielded up His life on Cal-vary, the significance of the Passover ceased, andthe ordinance of the Lord’s Supper was institutedas a memorial of the same event of which the Pass-over had been a type.”—Patriarchs and Prophets,539.

Error: 21 - It is claimed that, after the cruci-fixion and Christ’s ascension, the disciples gath-ered together to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost.It was because they did so that God sent the HolySpirit on them.

In reply to this bold claim, here are the facts:First, the disciples were told to “tarry in Jerusa-

lem” until the promised blessing was sent (Luke24:49-51; Acts 1:4). This was Christ’s last promise

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to them before He ascended. He did not tell them tokeep the Pentecost feast! Second, they spent mostof their time in the upper room, praying and deep-ening their dedication to God (Acts 1:12-14). Third,during all this time, the feast had not yet begun!Fifth, there is no mention that they kept the feast!

Error: 22 - It is claimed that we must now keepthe Passover because it is no longer a “nationalfestival” of only the Jews, but has become an “in-ternational festival,” kept by many throughout theworld. (More on “national laws” later.) The follow-ing two sentences are quoted as proof:

“The national festival of the Jews was to passaway forever. The service which Christ establishedwas to be observed by His followers in all landsand through all ages.”—Desire of Ages, 652.The above quotation is speaking about the Pass-

over being replaced by the Lord’s Supper and is inthe second paragraph of Chapter 72, “In Remem-brance of Me,” of Desire of Ages. The entire chap-ter is about the Lord’s Supper. It was the Lord’sSupper which was established “in all lands,” notworldwide observance of the Passover!

Yet the false teachers claim that the above state-ment predicts that the Passover will not pass away,but should be observed everywhere in the world. Tokeep the Passover today would be to crucify Christtwice.

Error: 23 - It is claimed that Paul kept the Pass-over at Philippi (Acts 20:6), and he mentions Pen-tecost also. Therefore we are required to keepthose feasts today.”—6 Bible Commentary, 1062.

In Acts 20:6, Luke wrote that Paul appeared to


82 The Feast Days

leave town after the Jewish feast of unleaven bread.But it does not say that he observed it. The state-ment just tells us the time of the year when Paul leftPhilippi.

Paul was trying to reach men’s hearts, but hewas compromising in order to do it. He also erredat Athens, when he tried to win people to the faiththrough worldly wisdom, instead of the simplepreaching of Christ (AA 244-245).

“At the close of his labors he [Paul] looked for theresults of his work. Out of the large assembly thathad listened to his eloquent words, only three hadbeen converted to the faith. He then decided thatfrom that time he would maintain the simplicity ofthe gospel. He was convinced that the learning ofthe world was powerless to move the hearts ofmen, but that the gospel was the power of God tosalvation.”—6 Bible Commentary, 1062.You will recall that, trying to please the Judaizing

Christians at Rome, Paul later compromised byagreeing to perform Jewish ceremonies at the Tem-ple. —But it resulted in his arrest, imprisonment,and eventual death.

He took the purification vow in the temple, that“all may know—

“. . that thou thyself also walkest orderly, andkeepest the [Mosaic] law.”—Acts 21:24.Paul knew better than to do that, and it resulted

in his imprisonment and eventual death.“Paul did not bind himself nor his converts to

the ceremonies and customs of the Jews, withtheir varied forms, types, and sacrifices, for herecognized that the perfect and final offering hadbeen made in the death of the Son of God.”—

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Sketches From the Life of Paul, p. 105.Unfortunately, the Jewish converts to the faith

wanted to retain the old Jewish ceremonies. Butthat does not mean that we should today!

“The Jewish converts generally were not inclinedto move as rapidly as the providence of God openedthe way.”—Acts of the Apostles, 189.

“The Jewish religion consisted in outward cer-emonies rather than inward piety.”—Desire ofAges, 608.Do not let Satan pervert your faith!

“Through heathenism, Satan had for ages turnedmen away from God; but he won his great tri-umph in perverting the faith of Israel. By contem-plating and worshiping their own conceptions, theheathen had lost a knowledge of God, and had be-come more and more corrupt. So it was with Israel.The principle that man can save himself by hisown works lay at the foundation of every heathenreligion; it had now become the principle of theJewish religion. Satan had implanted this principle.Wherever it is held, men have no barrier againstsin.”—Desire of Ages, 35-36.

Error: 24 - It is claimed that the battle of Ar-mageddon (Rev 16:16) will be fought by the wholeworld over “which Holy Days we should keep:the Sunday sabbath or the Feast Days and theSabbath.”

Where in the Bible or Spirit of Prophecy do wefind even a hint that this is true? Great Contro-versy is a marvelously detailed analysis of finalevents. If the feast days are an issue in the fi-nal crisis, we will find it in this book! But notonce are the words, “feasts” or “feast days,” found


84 The Feast Days

anywhere in it!In one passage “Passover” and “first fruits” are

mentioned, but it only tells how both have ended:“The slaying of the Passover lamb was a shadow

of the death of Christ. Says Paul: ‘Christ our Pass-over is sacrificed for us.’ 1 Corinthians 5:7. Thesheaf of first fruits, which at the time of the Pass-over was waved before the Lord, was typical ofthe resurrection of Christ. Paul says, in speakingof the resurrection of the Lord and of all His people:‘Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ’sat His coming.’ 1 Corinthians 15:23. Like the wavesheaf, which was the first ripe grain gathered beforethe harvest, Christ is the first fruits of that immor-tal harvest of redeemed ones that at the future res-urrection shall be gathered into the garner of God.

“These types were fulfilled, not only as to theevent, but as to the time. On the fourteenth day ofthe first Jewish month, the very day and month onwhich for fifteen long centuries the Passover lambhad been slain, Christ, having eaten the Passoverwith His disciples, instituted that feast which wasto commemorate His own death as ‘the Lamb ofGod, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ ”—Great Controversy 399.In Great Controversy, we are also told that

the earthly tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple nolonger exist.

“After the settlement of the Hebrews in Canaan,the tabernacle was replaced by the temple ofSolomon, which, though a permanent structure andupon a larger scale, observed the same proportionsand was similarly furnished. In this form the sanc-tuary existed—except while it lay in ruins in Daniel’stime—until its destruction by the Romans, in A.D.70.”—Great Controversy, 412.

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That brought their services to an end.Speaking about the day of atonement in heaven,

we are told:“. . the ministration of the earthly tabernacle,

which served ‘unto the example and shadow of heav-enly things.’ ”—Great Controversy, 433.That is all that Great Controversy tells us

about the Mosaic laws and services.

Error: 25 - It is claimed that Ellen White knewthe truth, that the feast days are as important asthe Ten Commandments and will be kept forever;but she decided not to tell anyone.

This one denies the nature of Inspiration. Godgives us the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy to revealthe truths we ought to know. To say that better truthis to be found outside them is to throw open thegates to every possible type of speculation, as wellas doubt of that which has been revealed.

Do these statements sound like Ellen White didnot tell us the facts about the feast days?

“This ordinance [foot washing] does not speakso largely to man’s intellectual capacity as to hisheart. His moral and spiritual nature needs it. IfHis disciples had not needed this, it would not havebeen left for them as Christ’s last established ordi-nance in connection with, and including, the lastsupper.

“It was Christ’s desire to leave to His disciplesan ordinance that would do for them the verything they needed—that would serve to disen-tangle them from the rites and ceremonies whichthey had hitherto engaged in as essential, andwhich the reception of the gospel made no longerof any force. To continue these rites would be


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an insult to Jehovah. Eating of the body, and drink-ing of the blood of Christ, not merely at the sacra-mental service, but daily partaking of the bread oflife to satisfy the soul’s hunger, would be in receiv-ing His Word and doing His will.”—5 Bible Com-mentary, 1139-1140.

“The Jews had prided themselves upon theirdivinely appointed services; and they concludedthat as God once specified the Hebrew manner ofworship, it was impossible that He should everauthorize a change in any of its specifications.They decided that Christianity must connect it-self with the Jewish laws and ceremonies. Theywere slow to discern to the end of that which hadbeen abolished by the death of Christ, and to per-ceive that all their sacrificial offerings had but pre-figured the death of the Son of God, in which typehad met its antitype rendering valueless the di-vinely appointed ceremonies and sacrifices of theJewish religion.”—Life of Paul, 64-65 (also Storyof Redemption, 305-306).

“There are two distinct laws brought to view.One is the law of types and shadows, whichreached to the time of Christ, and ceased whentype met antitype in His death. The other is thelaw of Jehovah, and is as abiding and changeless asHis eternal throne. After the crucifixion, it was adenial of Christ for the Jews to continue to offerthe burnt offerings and sacrifices which were typi-cal of His death. It was saying to the world thatthey looked for a Redeemer to come, and had nofaith in Him who had given His life for the sins ofthe world. Hence the ceremonial law ceased to beof force at the death of Christ.”—Signs, July 29,1886.

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THE FEASTSIN TYPE AND ANTITYPE

Because it is being claimed that we must keepthose feast days which have not yet been fulfilled,we should turn our attention to their antitypes.

Each of the seven feasts had both a type and anantitype. The type was the immediate, Old Testa-ment observance of that feast at a certain time inthe year. The antitype is the major event, to occurlater in history, to which the type pointed towards.

The first six feasts of the types have been ful-filled, but the seventh has not. Here are the sevenantitypes:

The Passover was fulfilled at the death of Christon Calvary. He was the true Lamb of God who takesaway the sins of all who accept Him as their Sav-iour.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread was fulfilledwhen, beginning the day after the crucifixion, thedisciples and others studied the Word of God inorder to learn the truth about the death of Christ.On the following day, as predicted in the type, thefirst fruits of the harvest were waved: Christ, thefirst fruits from the dead, arose and took a numberof risen believers (also first fruits of the dead) toheaven. After that, a partial harvest of souls began,as various ones realized the truth about Christ.

It has been claimed that the Feast of Unleav-ened Bread was not connected with the Passover.But that is not true.


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“Paul tarried to keep the Passover . . during theeight days of the feast.”—Acts of the Apostles, 390-391.

“The feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, whichis called the Passover.”—Luke 22:1. The entire feast was called the Passover, al-

though the Passover meal was only on the first day.In common usage, Passover means the feast of un-leavened bread; and it covered eight days. So theFeast of Unleavened Bread has also passed away.

The Feast of Pentecost was fulfilled 50 dayslater when the Holy Spirit was poured out on theApostles and, as they began immediately witness-ing, a large number of converts united with them inthe faith. (That 50 days consisted of 40 days thatChrist was on earth with His disciples, followed by10 days while the disciples prayed in the upperroom.)

The Feast of Trumpets was fulfilled during theMillerite Movement, culminating in the loud cry givenin the summer and early fall of 1844. A truly power-ful message was given in trumpet tones.

The Day of Atonement began being fulfilledon October 22, 1844, when Christ entered the Sec-ond Apartment of the heavenly Sanctuary, there tobegin the final atonement on our behalf. This expe-rience is fully explained (better than any othersource) in Great Controversy, chapters 23, 24, and28.

In this, the antitypical Day of Atonement, weare today to live very carefully, through the graceof Christ, perfecting our characters—for the atone-ment will soon come to our names and will then

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end! But nowhere are we told to, today, keep anactual Day of Atonement, kill the two animals andrelease a scapegoat!

The Feast of Tabernacles will be fulfilled whenChrist returns to earth for His own.

“The Feast of Tabernacles was not only commemo-rative but typical. It not only pointed back to thewilderness sojourn, but, as the feast of harvest, itcelebrated the ingathering of the fruits of the earthand pointed forward to the great day of final in-gathering, when the Lord of the harvest shall sendforth His reapers to gather the tares together inbundles for the fire and to gather the wheat into Hisgarner. At that time the wicked will all be destroyed.They will become ‘as though they had not been.’Obadiah 16. And every voice in the whole universewill unite in joyful praise to God.”—Patriarchs andProphets, 541.

It is claimed that, because the Day of Atone-ment and the Feast of Tabernacles have notreached their fulfillment yet, therefore we mustkeep them today.

This is false reasoning.

First, the entire ceremonial system is fulfilledin Christ and in His ministry for us. We havequoted a number of statements which said that.In order to avoid confusion, the rituals of the en-tire Mosaic system, with their blood offerings,ended at the cross. Nowhere are we told that thepractice of them did not.

“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy peopleand upon thy holy city . . And after threescore andtwo weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Him-


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self . . And He shall confirm the covenant with manyfor one week: and in the midst of the week Heshall cause the sacrifice and the oblation tocease.”—Daniel 9:24, 26-27.

“ ‘In the midst of the week He shall cause thesacrifice and the oblation to cease.’ Dan. 9:27. Inthe spring of A.D. 31, Christ the true sacrifice wasoffered on Calvary. Then the veil of the temple wasrent in twain, showing that the sacredness and sig-nificance of the sacrificial service had departed.The time had come for the earthly sacrifice andoblation to cease.”—Desire of Ages, 233.

“ ‘In the midst of the week He shall cause thesacrifice and the oblation to cease.’ In A.D. 31, threeand a half years after His baptism, our Lord wascrucified. With the great sacrifice offered upon Cal-vary, ended that system of offerings which for fourthousand years had pointed forward to the Lambof God. Type had met antitype, and all the sacri-fices and oblations of the ceremonial system werethere to cease.”—Great Controversy, 327-328.

Second, both the Day of Atonement and theFeast of Tabernacles require blood sacrifices: threefor the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:3, 6, 9), and eightfor the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev 23:36-37). We arerepeatedly told that all sacrificial ceremonies endedat the cross.

Third, nowhere in the Bible or Spirit of Proph-ecy are we required to actually keep any feastday after Calvary. Going to camp meeting and re-joicing, as Ellen White recommends (not commands)that we do—is not keeping the literal Feast of Tab-ernacles, with its eight sacrifices of lambs.

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Fourth, it would be putting Christ to deathtwice, if we kept a typical yearly feast today. Itwould be worse than the terrible error that Mosesmade, in striking the rock twice (Num 20:10-11).All he did was to repeat the symbol twice. In slay-ing lambs today, we would be committing the sinof the Jews after Calvary. —And God punishedthem for that sin by destroying the city wherethey were doing it!

Do you want to receive a like punishment?Yes, it is true that two of the seven feasts have

not yet received their final antitypical fulfillment,but there is no Scripture that tells us to actuallyhold even one of those feasts after Calvary. To doso, requires going through all the rituals involved init. In accordance with the Bible specifications, thisincludes blood sacrifices offered on the TempleMount at Jerusalem. Who is ready to go to OldJerusalem today and dare to do it?

IDENTITY OF THE 144,000

This point is discussed here since some falseteachers are declaring that, unless you keep thefeast days, you cannot be part of the 144,000 andbe translated!

1 - It is also being claimed that “the statutes. . the fundamental teaching which the 144,000must embrace if they are to give the loud cry.”

2 - Another false teaching is this one: “The144,000 will teach the [feast] statutes in the lastdays . . This statute message is . . the very heart


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of the message carried in the loud cry to theworld.”

3 - Here is another error that is being taught:“The feasts are part of the statutes, and only feast-keepers will be part of the 144,000, and only theywill be translated.” It is claimed that only thosewho make the proclamation of the statutes theirfirst work will receive the seal of God.

Because this error is producing confusionamong our people, I will here explain the truthabout the 144,000:

The 144,000 are a group of faithful ones—one group of all the redeemed—who will be saved.They alone will go through the entire loud cry,see the falling of the plagues on the wicked, andexperience the great time of trouble—and Jacob’strouble. They have, during that time interval, “got-ten the special victory over the mark of the beast—at the only time it was being applied. (Prior to thefinal crisis, the mark was not applied.)

After Christ returns, they stand with all theother redeemed on the sea of glass; but they alonecan sing a special song about that experience ofdeliverance which they went through.

The following passage clearly identifies the144,000:

“Upon the crystal sea before the throne, that seaof glass as it were mingled with fire,—so resplen-dent is it with the glory of God,—are gathered thecompany that have ‘gotten the victory over thebeast, and over his image, and over his mark, andover the number of his name.’ With the Lamb upon

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Mount Zion, ‘having the harps of God,’ they stand,the hundred and forty and four thousand that wereredeemed from among men; and there is heard, asthe sound of many waters, and as the sound of agreat thunder, ‘the voice of harpers harping with theirharps.’

“And they sing ‘a new song’ before the throne, asong which no man can learn save the hundred andforty and four thousand. It is the song of Moses andthe Lamb—a song of deliverance. None but the hun-dred and forty-four thousand can learn that song;for it is the song of their experience—an experi-ence such as no other company have ever had.‘These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoeverHe goeth.’

“These, having been translated from the earth,from among the living, are counted as ‘the first fruitsunto God and to the Lamb.’ Revelation 15:2, 3; 14:1-5. ‘These are they which came out of great tribula-tion;’ they have passed through the time of troublesuch as never was since there was a nation; theyhave endured the anguish of the time of Jacob’strouble; they have stood without an intercessorthrough the final outpouring of God’s judgments.But they have been delivered, for they have ‘washedtheir robes, and made them white in the blood ofthe Lamb.’ ‘In their mouth was found no guile: forthey are without fault’ before God. ‘Therefore arethey before the throne of God, and serve Him dayand night in His temple: and He that sitteth on thethrone shall dwell among them.’ They have seenthe earth wasted with famine and pestilence, thesun having power to scorch men with great heat,and they themselves have endured suffering, hun-ger, and thirst. But ‘they shall hunger no more, nei-ther thirst anymore; neither shall the sun light on


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them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in themidst of the throne shall feed them, and shall leadthem unto living fountains of waters: and God shallwipe away all tears from their eyes.’ Revelation 7:14-17.”—Great Controversy, 648-649.At this point, you need to understand the or-

der of final events: (1) the loud cry; (2) the close ofprobation; (3) the plagues and great time of troublebegin; (4) Jacob’s trouble begins. The 144,000 gothrough all of that. Next comes (5) the Voice of Godwhich delivers the faithful (GC 636:1-637:0). Noother of the redeemed are alive throughout theevents of this paragraph; only the 144,000 arealive.

Then comes (6) the special resurrection (GC637:1), when “all who have died under the faith ofthe third angel’s message” are raised. At this pointin time, a second group of redeemed ones are alsoalive. They are elsewhere referred to as the ones“with the 144,000.”

Shortly afterward, (7) Christ returns and the restof the righteous dead are raised. At this point, allthe redeemed are alive.

Only the 144,000 hear the Voice of God an-nouncing the day and hour of Christ’s return, forall the rest of the redeemed are still in the graves.(Why are the 144,000 special? They were alivethroughout the entire final crisis experience.)

“I saw that the four angels would hold the fourwinds until Jesus’ work was done in the sanctu-ary, and then will come the seven last plagues . . Adecree went forth to slay the saints, which causedthem to cry day and night for deliverance. This wasthe time of Jacob’s trouble. Then all the saints cried

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out with anguish of spirit, and were delivered bythe Voice of God. The 144,000 triumphed. Theirfaces were lighted up with the glory of God.”—EarlyWritings, 36-37.

“The living saints, 144,000 in number, knew andunderstood the Voice, while the wicked thought itwas thunder and an earthquake.”—Early Writings,15.After the Voice of God is sounded, the special

resurrection occurs, and all who have died in thefaith of the third angel will be raised. (Why is thisgroup special? During their lifetime, the entire worldwas opposed to the law of God. Rejoice! If you andI die, faithful to Christ and the message, before thefinal crisis begins, you and I will be in that groupwhich is raised in the special resurrection and bealive to see Jesus return!)

“Graves are opened, and ‘many of them that sleepin the dust of the earth . . awake, some to everlast-ing life, and some to shame and everlasting con-tempt.’ Daniel 12:2. All who have died in the faithof the third angel’s message come forth from thetomb glorified, to hear God’s covenant of peace withthose who have kept His law.”—Great Controversy,637.The 144,000 will, at the Second Advent, see

Christ calling the rest of the righteous dead backto life. (Why is this group special? They acceptedChrist and were faithful to Him and will be sharersin a life that extends throughout eternity.)

“The graves opened [at Christ’s return], and thedead came up clothed with immortality. The144,000 shouted, ‘Alleluia!’ as they recognized theirfriends who had been torn from them by death, andin the same moment we were changed and caught


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up together with them to meet the Lord in the air.”—Early Writings, 16.Those “with the 144,000” will be those who

died in the third angel’s message, but were notalive during the final crisis and Jacob’s trouble.They will be raised in the special resurrection,after the Voice of God sounds, and before the Sec-ond Advent. Although they are not part of the144,000, they will be in that privileged groupwhich come up in the special resurrection andsee Jesus return.

“I hardly know what to say to you. The news ofyour wife’s death was to me overwhelming. I couldhardly believe it and can hardly believe it now. Godgave me a view last Sabbath night which I will write. . I saw that she was sealed and would come up atthe voice of God and stand upon the earth, andwould be with the 144,000. I saw we need notmourn for her; she would rest in the time oftrouble.”—2 Selected Messages, 263.Ellen White will be another precious soul who,

not having lived through the final crisis, will notbe part of the 144,000. But she will come up inthe special resurrection and, “with the 144,000,”see Christ return; and afterward, she will be ableto enjoy all the glories of heaven.

“I [Ellen White] begged of my attending angel tolet me remain in that place [in a vision of heaven]. Icould not bear the thought of coming back to thisdark world again. Then the angel said, ‘You must goback, and if you are faithful, you, with the144,000, shall have the privilege of visiting all theworlds and viewing the handiwork of God.’ ”—EarlyWritings, 40.

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There is nothing more about the 144,000 thatyou and I need to know. That which has beenrevealed to us has been explained here.

The false teachers claim that you need to ac-cept their strange teachings in order to be amongthe 144,000. But that is not true. Accept God’sWord as it reads, and do not go beyond it.

Notice how all the evidence carefully fits to-gether. All of the above passages identify and locatethe 144,000.

The 144,000 is a group set apart by time, notby personal achievements. We do not have to ac-cept the theories of false teachers in order to beamong that group.

How many people will be in the group of144,000? That is a question that will be answeredafter Jesus returns and gathers His faithful ones.

Prior to that time, no one will know—for, dur-ing the time when the 144,000 are going throughthe final crisis, conditions will be so fearsome allover the world, and they will frequently be so scat-tered—that it would be impossible at that time tocount them.

“Christ says that there will be those in the churchwho will present fables and suppositions, when Godhas given grand, elevating, ennobling truths whichshould ever be kept in the treasure house of themind. When men pick up this theory and that theory,when they are curious to know something it is notnecessary for them to know, God is not leading them.It is not His plan that His people shall present some-thing which they have to suppose, which is not taughtin the Word. It is not His will that they shall get intocontroversy over questions which will not help them


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spiritually, such as, Who is to compose the hundredand forty-four thousand? This those who are theelect of God in a short time know without question.

“My brethren and sisters, appreciate and studythe truths God has given you and your children.Spend not your time in seeking to know that whichwill be no spiritual help. ‘What shall I do to inheritlife?’ (Luke 10:25). This is the all-important ques-tion, and it has been clearly answered. ‘What is writ-ten in the law? how readest thou?’ ”—Fundamen-tals of Christian Education, 386.

BEWARE OF SPECULATION

We should beware of inventing new theories.Accept what has been revealed, and do not try to gobeyond it.

We are told not to pry our way into unknownthings which God has not revealed.

“We may not, in this life, be able to explain themeaning of every passage of Scripture; but thereare no vital points of practical truth that will beclouded in mystery.”—2 Testimonies, 692.

“Some zealous ones who are aiming and strain-ing every energy for originality have made a gravemistake in trying to get something startling, won-derful, entrancing before the people, something thatthey think others do not comprehend; but they donot themselves know what they are talking about.They speculate upon God’s Word, advancing ideasthat are not a whit of help to themselves or to thechurches. For the time being they may excite theimagination, but there is a reaction, and these veryideas become a hindrance. Faith is confounded withfancy, and their views may bias the mind in a wrong

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direction.“Let the plain, simple statements of the Word of

God be food for the mind; this speculating uponideas that are not clearly presented there is dan-gerous business.”—1 Selected Messages, 181.

“For human agents to misconstrue and put aforced, half truthful, and mystical constructionupon the oracles of God is an act which endangerstheir own souls, and the souls of others.”—Funda-mentals of Christian Education, 386.

THE RITUALSREPLACED BY

THE LORD’S SUPPER

It is claimed that the ceremonial laws werenot replaced by the ordinances of foot washingand the Lord’s Supper.

“In this ordinance [of the Lord’s Supper], Christdischarged His disciples from the cares and bur-dens of the ancient Jewish obligations in ritesand ceremonies. These no longer possessed anyvirtue; for type was meeting antitype in Himself,the authority and foundation of all Jewish ordi-nances that pointed to Him as the great and onlyefficacious offering for the sins of the world.”—5Bible Commentary, 1139.

“The symbols of the Lord’s house are simple andplainly understood, and the truths represented bythem are of the deepest significance to us. In insti-tuting the sacramental service to take the placeof the Passover, Christ left for His church a memo-rial of His great sacrifice for man. ‘This do,’ He said,‘in remembrance of Me.’ This was the point of tran-sition between two economies and their two greatfestivals. The one was to close forever; the other,


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which He had just established, was to take its place,and to continue through all time as the memorial ofHis death.”—Evangelism, 273-274.

“The passover pointed backward to the deliver-ance of the children of Israel, and was also typical,pointing forward to Christ, the Lamb of God, slainfor the redemption of fallen man . . The passoverhad been observed to commemorate the deliveranceof the children of Israel from Egypt. It had been bothcommemorative and typical. The type had reachedthe antitype when Christ, the Lamb of God with-out blemish, died upon the cross.

“He left an ordinance to commemorate theevents of His crucifixion . . Here our Saviour in-stituted the Lord’s supper, to be often celebrated,to keep fresh in the memory of His followers thesolemn scenes of His betrayal and crucifixion forthe sins of the world. He would have His followersrealize their continual dependence upon His bloodfor salvation.”—3 Spiritual Gifts, 225, 227-228.

“In the place of the national festival which theJewish people had observed, He instituted a me-morial service, the ordinance of feet washing andthe sacramental supper, to be observed through alltime by His followers in every country. These shouldever repeat Christ’s act, that all may see that trueservice calls for unselfish ministry.”—Evangelism,275-276.

CEREMONIAL LAWS WERE NATIONAL LAWS

Although touched on earlier, this is an extremelysignificant point. The various ceremonial laws werethe national laws of Israel. This means that they

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were given to the nation of Israel. But it also meansthat they were not, what we could call, individuallaws. They were to be announced and carried outby the national government, with the participa-tion of all the people.

God gave all of the Mosaic laws to the Jewishnation.

“These laws were to be recorded by Moses, andcarefully treasured as the foundation of the nationallaw.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, 311.They were not individual laws. No individual

or group was to go apart by themselves and sacri-fice lambs for the morning and evening burnt offer-ing (as Jeroboam tried to do; 1 Kgs 12) or walkinto the Temple and begin conducting its ceremo-nies (as Uzziah tried to do; 2 Chron 26:18-21). Noindividual or group was to hold a Passover or Pen-tecost by themselves. —These were all nationallaws which the government was placed in chargeof.

According to the requirement, which wasnever changed, an Aaronic priest must prepareand perform the sacrifices; and they must be madeat the Temple in old Jerusalem. This is the Bibli-cal requirement which was never changed.

God never authorized any human being tomodify the seven sacred feasts: how they were tobe performed, where they were to be held, or whowas to officiate at these solemn services.

In marked contrast, the Ten Commandments,which governed the nation as its highest set of laws,were to be kept individually!

We are told that the Passover was part of this


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national law.“The national festival of the Jews was to pass

away forever. The service which Christ establishedwas to be observed by His followers in all landsand through all ages.”—Desire of Ages, 652 (Ev275-276 is similar).

“The priests hoped that Pilate would now inflictthe death penalty on Jesus without giving Him ahearing. This they besought as a favor on the occa-sion of their great national festival.”—Desire ofAges, 725.We can be assured that all the other feast days

were also part of that national law. None of theseancient rituals were to be kept by individuals orsmall groups, acting on their own, whenever andwherever they wanted to.

WHICH LAWSARE MOSAIC?

The “Mosaic laws” were all the laws whichGod gave privately to Moses, to be written onpaper and told to the Israelites. This included allof the laws, with the exception of the Ten Com-mandments, which, written on stone, was spokendirectly to the people by God Himself.

“Unlike the Ten Commandments, they weredelivered privately to Moses, who was to commu-nicate them to the people.”—Patriarchs and Proph-ets, 310.

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PAUL SPEAKSTO THE GALATIANS

After Paul had made many converts in Galatia,Jewish teachers traveled there and told the youngChristians that they needed to keep the feast daysand other Mosaic ordinances. They said Christianswere obligated to keep them. Paul called this rever-sion to ceremonies and feasts “weak and beggarly.”

“But now, after that ye have known God, or ratherare known of God, how turn ye again to the weakand beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire againto be in bondage?”—Galatians 4:9.Then Paul spoke directly about the feast days:“Ye observe days, and months, and times, and

years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed uponyou labour in vain.”—Galatians 4:10-11.The reference here to “seasons” should liter-

ally be “appointed seasons”—the seven annualfeasts of the Jewish calendar (Num 28:2). “Years”refers to the sabbatical jubilee years of the Jewishcalendar (Ex 23:10; Lev 25:8-12).

Paul then pled with them to come out fromthe old Mosaic laws as he had done.

“Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am.”—Galatians4:12.Should we, today, reject Paul’s wise counsel?Paul had given up those customs for two rea-

sons: They led to legalism, and they were only “shad-ows” of the glorious light shining from Calvary. Paulpreferred the light, not the shadows. His messageto us today is this:


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“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewithChrist hath made us free, and be not entangled againwith the yoke of bondage.”—Galatians 5:1.

JUDAIZING CHRISTIANS

Do you want to be a Judaizing Christian, andcontinue keeping the Mosaic rituals, while urg-ing fellow Christians to do the same?

It was the Judaizing Christians who keptteaching that ceremonial laws, involving sacri-fices at the Temple and during Feasts, must stillbe observed.

“The Jews were so exacting in regard to ceremo-nial purity that their regulations were extremelyburdensome. Their minds were occupied withrules and restrictions and the fear of outward de-filement, and they did not perceive the stain thatselfishness and malice impart to the soul.

“Jesus does not mention this ceremonial purityas one of the conditions of entering into His king-dom, but points out the need of purity of heart.”—Mount of Blessing, 24.

“They held, and still hold, the mere husks, theshadows, the figures symbolizing the true. A fig-ure for the time appointed, that they might discernthe true, became so perverted by their own inven-tions, that their eyes were blinded. They did notrealize that type met antitype in the death of JesusChrist. The greater their perversion of figures andsymbols, the more confused their minds became,so that they could not see the perfect fulfillmentof the Jewish economy, instituted and establishedby Christ, and pointing to Him as the substance.Meats and drinks and divers ordinances were mul-

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tiplied until ceremonial religion constituted theironly worship.

“In His teaching, Christ sought to educate andtrain the Jews to see the object of that which wasto be abolished by the true offering of Himself,the living Sacrifice.”—Fundamentals of ChristianEducation, 398.

“Not all, however, were pleased with the deci-sion [at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15]; therewas a faction of ambitious and self-confidentbrethren who disagreed with it. These men as-sumed to engage in the work on their own responsi-bility. They indulged in much murmuring andfaultfinding, proposing new plans.”—Acts of theApostles, 196.

“Jerusalem was the metropolis of the Jews, andit was there that the greatest exclusiveness andbigotry were found. The Jewish Christians livingwithin sight of the temple naturally allowed theirminds to revert to the peculiar privileges of the Jewsas a nation. When they saw the Christian churchdeparting from the ceremonies and traditions ofJudaism, and perceived that the peculiar sacred-ness with which the Jewish customs had been in-vested would soon be lost sight of in the light of thenew faith, many grew indignant with Paul as the onewho had, in a large measure, caused this change.Even the disciples were not all prepared to ac-cept willingly the decision of the council. Somewere zealous for the ceremonial law, and they re-garded Paul with disfavor because they thought thathis principles in regard to the obligations of the Jew-ish law were lax.”—Acts of the Apostles, 197.

“When Peter, at a later date, visited Antioch, hewon the confidence of many by his prudent conducttoward the Gentile converts. For a time he acted in


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accordance with the light given from heaven. Heso far overcame his natural prejudice as to sit attable with the Gentile converts. But when certainJews who were zealous for the ceremonial law,came from Jerusalem, Peter injudiciously changedhis deportment toward the converts from paganism. . The church was threatened with division. ButPaul, who saw the subverting influence of the wrongdone to the church through the double part actedby Peter, openly rebuked him for thus disguisinghis true sentiments.”—Acts of the Apostles, 198.

“Peter saw the error into which he had fallen,and immediately set about repairing the evil thathad been wrought, so far as was in his power. God,who knows the end from the beginning, permit-ted Peter to reveal this weakness of character inorder that the tried apostle might see that there wasnothing in himself whereof he might boast. Even thebest of men, if left to themselves, will err in judg-ment . . this record of the apostle’s weakness was toremain as a proof of his fallibility . . The history ofthis departure from right principles stands as asolemn warning to men in positions of trust inthe cause of God, that they may not fail in integ-rity, but firmly adhere to principle. The greaterthe responsibilities placed upon the human agent,and the larger his opportunities to dictate and con-trol, the more harm he is sure to do if he does notcarefully follow the way of the Lord.”—Acts of theApostles, 198-199.

“In his ministry, Paul was often compelled to standalone. He was specially taught of God and daredmake no concessions that would involve principle.At times the burden was heavy, but Paul stood firmfor the right. He realized that the church mustnever be brought under the control of human

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power. The traditions and maxims of men mustnot take the place of revealed truth. The advanceof the gospel message must not be hindered bythe prejudices and preferences of men, whatevermight be their position in the church.

“Paul had dedicated himself and all his powersto the service of God. He had received the truthsof the gospel direct from heaven, and throughouthis ministry he maintained a vital connection withheavenly agencies. He had been taught by God re-garding the binding of unnecessary burdens uponthe Gentile Christians; thus when the Judaizingbelievers introduced into the Antioch church thequestion of circumcision, Paul knew the mind ofthe Spirit of God concerning such teaching andtook a firm and unyielding position which broughtto the churches freedom from Jewish rites andceremonies.”—Acts of the Apostles, 199-200.

“These false teachers were mingling Jewish tra-ditions with the truths of the gospel. Ignoring thedecision of the general council at Jerusalem, theyurged upon the Gentile converts the observanceof the ceremonial law.

“The situation was critical. The evils that hadbeen introduced threatened speedily to destroythe Galatian churches.

“Paul was cut to the heart, and his soul was stirredby this open apostasy on the part of those to whomhe had faithfully taught the principles of the gospel.He immediately wrote to the deluded believers, ex-posing the false theories that they had accepted andwith great severity rebuking those who were de-parting from the faith.”—Acts of the Apostles, 383-384.

“From every quarter were coming accounts of thespread of the new doctrine by which Jews were


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released from the observance of the rites of theceremonial law and Gentiles were admitted to equalprivileges with the Jews as children of Abraham.Paul, in his preaching at Corinth, presented the samearguments which he urged so forcibly in his epistles.His emphatic statement, ‘There is neither Greeknor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision’(Colossians 3:11), was regarded by his enemies asdaring blasphemy, and they determined that hisvoice should be silenced.”—Acts of the Apostles,390.

“In the earlier years of the gospel work amongthe Gentiles some of the leading brethren at Jerusa-lem, clinging to former prejudices and habits ofthought, had not co-operated heartily with Paul andhis associates. In their anxiety to preserve a fewmeaningless forms and ceremonies, they had lostsight of the blessing that would come to them andto the cause they loved, through an effort to unite inone all parts of the Lord’s work. Although desirousof safeguarding the best interests of the Christianchurch, they had failed to keep step with the ad-vancing providences of God, and in their humanwisdom attempted to throw about workers manyunnecessary restrictions. Thus there arose a groupof men who were unacquainted personally with thechanging circumstances and peculiar needs met bylaborers in distant fields, yet who insisted that theyhad the authority to direct their brethren in thesefields to follow certain specified methods of labor.They felt as if the work of preaching the gospelshould be carried forward in harmony with theiropinions.”—Acts of the Apostles, 400.

“The liberal contributions lying before them addedweight to the testimony of the apostle concerningthe faithfulness of the new churches established

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among the Gentiles. The men who, while numberedamong those who were in charge of the work atJerusalem, had urged that arbitrary measures ofcontrol be adopted, saw Paul’s ministry in a newlight and were convinced that their own coursehad been wrong, that they had been held in bond-age by Jewish customs and traditions, and thatthe work of the gospel had been greatly hinderedby their failure to recognize that the wall of parti-tion between Jew and Gentile had been broken downby the death of Christ.

“This was the golden opportunity for all the lead-ing brethren to confess frankly that God had wroughtthrough Paul, and that at times they had erred inpermitting the reports of his enemies to arouse theirjealousy and prejudice. But instead of uniting in aneffort to do justice to the one who had been injured,they gave him counsel which showed that they stillcherished a feeling that Paul should be held largelyresponsible for the existing prejudice. They did notstand nobly in his defense, endeavoring to show thedisaffected ones where they were wrong, but soughtto effect a compromise by counseling him to pur-sue a course which in their opinion would removeall cause for misapprehension . . ‘Do therefore thisthat we say to thee: We have four men which have avow on them; them take, and purify thyself withthem, and be at charges with them, that they mayshave their heads: and all may know that thosethings, whereof they were informed concerningthee, are nothing; but that thou thyself alsowalkest orderly, and keepest the law’ . .

“The brethren hoped that Paul, by following thecourse suggested, might give a decisive contradic-tion to the false reports concerning him. They as-sured him that the decision of the former council,


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concerning the Gentile converts and the ceremoniallaw, still held good. But the advice now given wasnot consistent with that decision. The Spirit ofGod did not prompt this instruction; it was thefruit of cowardice. The leaders of the church inJerusalem knew that by non-conformity to theceremonial law, Christians would bring uponthemselves the hatred of the Jews and exposethemselves to persecution. The Sanhedrin wasdoing its utmost to hinder the progress of the gos-pel. Men were chosen by this body to follow up theapostles, especially Paul, and in every possible wayto oppose their work. Should the believers in Christbe condemned before the Sanhedrin as breakers ofthe law, they would suffer swift and severe punish-ment as apostates from the Jewish faith.

“Many of the Jews who had accepted the gos-pel still cherished a regard for the ceremonial lawand were only too willing to make unwise con-cessions, hoping thus to gain the confidence oftheir countrymen, to remove their prejudice, andto win them to faith in Christ as the world’s Re-deemer. Paul realized that so long as many of theleading members of the church at Jerusalem shouldcontinue to cherish prejudice against him, theywould work constantly to counteract his influence.He felt that if by any reasonable concession he couldwin them to the truth he would remove a great ob-stacle to the success of the gospel in other places.But he was not authorized of God to concede asmuch as they asked.”—Acts of the Apostles, 403-405.

“In almost every church there were some mem-bers who were Jews by birth. To these convertsthe Jewish teachers found ready access, andthrough them gained a foothold in the churches.

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It was impossible, by scriptural arguments, to over-throw the doctrines taught by Paul; hence they re-sorted to the most unscrupulous measures to coun-teract his influence and weaken his authority. Theydeclared that he had not been a disciple of Jesus,and had received no commission from Him; yet hehad presumed to teach doctrines directly opposedto those held by Peter, James, and the other apos-tles. Thus the emissaries of Judaism succeeded inalienating many of the Christian converts from theirteacher in the gospel. Having gained this point, theyinduced them to return to the observance of theceremonial law as essential to salvation. Faith inChrist, and obedience to the law of ten command-ments, were regarded as of minor importance. Di-vision, heresy, and sensualism were rapidly gain-ing ground among the believers in Galatia.

“Paul’s soul was stirred as he saw the evils thatthreatened speedily to destroy these churches. Heimmediately wrote to the Galatians, exposing theirfalse theories, and with great severity rebuking thosewho had departed from the faith.”—6 Bible Com-mentary, 1108.

“There were those in Paul’s day who were con-stantly dwelling upon circumcision, and theycould bring plenty of proof from the Bible to showits obligation on the Jews; but this teaching wasof no consequence at this time; for Christ haddied upon Calvary’s cross, and circumcision in theflesh could not be of any further value.

“The typical service and the ceremonies con-nected with it were abolished at the cross. Thegreat antitypical Lamb of God had become an offer-ing for guilty man, and the shadow ceased in thesubstance. Paul was seeking to bring the minds ofmen to the great truth for the time; but these who


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claimed to be followers of Jesus were wholly ab-sorbed in teaching the tradition of the Jews, andthe obligation of circumcision.”—6 Bible Commen-tary, 1061.

“The Jews refused to accept Christ as the Mes-siah, and they cannot see that their ceremoniesare meaningless, that the sacrifices and offeringshave lost their significance. The veil drawn bythemselves in stubborn unbelief is still before theirminds. It would be removed if they would acceptChrist, the righteousness of the law.

“Many in the Christian world also have a veilbefore their eyes and heart. They do not see tothe end of that which was done away. They do notsee that it was only the ceremonial law which wasabrogated at the death of Christ. They claim thatthe moral law was nailed to the cross. Heavy is theveil that darkens their understanding. The heartsof many are at war with God. They are not subjectto His law. Only as they shall come into harmonywith the rule of His government can Christ be of anyavail to them. They may talk of Christ as their Sav-iour; but He will finally say to them, I know you not.You have not exercised genuine repentance towardGod for the transgression of His holy law, and youcannot have genuine faith in Me, for it was My mis-sion to exalt God’s law . .

“The moral law was never a type or a shadow.It existed before man’s creation, and will endureas long as God’s throne remains. God could notchange or alter one precept of His law in order tosave man; for the law is the foundation of His gov-ernment. It is unchangeable, unalterable, infinite,and eternal. In order for man to be saved, and forthe honor of the law to be maintained, it was neces-sary for the Son of God to offer Himself as a sacri-

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fice for sin. He who knew no sin became sin for us.He died for us on Calvary. His death shows the won-derful love of God for man, and the immutability ofHis law.”—6 Bible Commentary, 1096-1097.

“This was an important era for the church.Though the middle wall of partition between Jewand Gentile had been broken down by the death ofChrist, letting the Gentiles into the full privileges ofthe gospel, the veil had not yet been torn away fromthe eyes of many of the believing Jews, and theycould not clearly discern to the end of that whichwas abolished by the Son of God. The work wasnow to be prosecuted with vigor among the Gen-tiles, and was to result in strengthening the churchby a great ingathering of souls.”—Story of Redemp-tion, 303-304.

“The death of Jesus Christ for the redemption ofman lifts the veil and reflects a flood of light backhundreds of years, upon the whole institution ofthe Jewish system of religion. Without the deathof Christ all this system was meaningless. TheJews reject Christ, and therefore their whole sys-tem of religion is to them indefinite, unexplainable,and uncertain. They attach as much importance toshadowy ceremonies of types which have met theirantitype as they do to the law of the ten command-ments, which was not a shadow, but a reality asenduring as the throne of Jehovah. The death ofChrist elevates the Jewish system of types andordinances, showing that they were of divine ap-pointment, and for the purpose of keeping faith alivein the hearts of His people.”—6 Bible Commentary,1097.

“We can know far more of Christ by following Himstep by step in the work of redemption, seeking thelost and the perishing, than by journeying to old


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Jerusalem. Christ has taken His people into Hischurch. He has swept away every ceremony of theancient type. He has given no liberty to restorethese rites, or to substitute anything that will re-call the old literal sacrifices. The Lord requires ofHis people spiritual sacrifices alone.”—Review, Feb-ruary 25, 1896.

“The apostle showed that religion does not con-sist in rites and ceremonies, creeds and theories.If it did, the natural man could understand it byinvestigation, as he understands worldly things. Paultaught that religion is a practical, saving energy, aprinciple wholly from God, a personal experienceof God’s renewing power upon the soul.

“He showed how Moses had pointed Israel for-ward to Christ as that Prophet whom they were tohear; how all the prophets had testified of Him asGod’s great remedy for sin, the guiltless One whowas to bear the sins of the guilty. He did not findfault with their observance of forms and ceremo-nies, but showed that while they maintained theritual service with great exactness, they were re-jecting Him who was the antitype of all that sys-tem.”—Acts of the Apostles, 451-452.

CEREMONIALISM

Is this the time in history when we need cer-emonialism? What is the message God has givenus for our time—just before the end of the world?Nowhere are we told that it is a return to the OldTestament ceremonial laws!

Satan is behind this present effort to side-track the people of God. He is trying to get us todowngrade the importance of Christ’s sacrifice—by

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returning to the old rituals which preceded it.“The sacrifices and offerings of the Mosaic ritual

were ever pointing toward a better service. . . WhenAdam and his sons began to offer the ceremonialsacrifices ordained by God as a type of the comingRedeemer, Satan discerned in these a symbol ofcommunion between earth and heaven.

“During the long centuries that have followed, ithas been his constant effort to intercept this com-munion. Untiringly has he sought to misrepresentGod and to misinterpret the rites pointing to theSaviour, and with a great majority of the membersof the human family he has been successful.”—Prophets and Kings, 685.What is ceremonialism?

“The Pharisees sought distinction by their scru-pulous ceremonialism.”—Desire of Ages, 261.

“They [the priests] robbed God of the service Herequired of them, and they robbed their fellow menof religious guidance and a holy example.

“Priests and rulers became fixed in a rut of cer-emonialism. They were satisfied with a legal reli-gion, and it was impossible for them to give toothers the living truths of heaven. They thoughttheir own righteousness all-sufficient, and did notdesire that a new element should be brought intotheir religion. The good will of God to men they didnot accept as something apart from themselves, butconnected it with their own merit because of theirgood works. The faith that works by love and pu-rifies the soul could find no place for union withthe religion of the Pharisees, made up of ceremo-nies and the injunctions of men.”—Acts of theApostles, 15.

“Israel had not perceived the spiritual nature of


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the law, and too often their professed obediencewas but an observance of forms and ceremo-nies.”—Mount of Blessing, 46.

“The Pharisees sought to exalt themselves bytheir rigorous observance of forms . . Priests andscribes and rulers were fixed in a rut of ceremo-nies and traditions. Their hearts had become con-tracted, like the dried-up wine skins to which Hehad compared them. While they remained satisfiedwith a legal religion, it was impossible for them tobecome the depositaries of the living truth of heaven.They thought their own righteousness all-sufficient,and did not desire that a new element should bebrought into their religion. The good will of God tomen they did not accept as something apart fromthemselves. They connected it with their ownmerit because of their good works.”—Desire ofAges, 278-279.

“Christ did not enforce upon His disciples wea-risome ceremonies.”—Gospel Workers, 175.

“There is danger that a ceremonial service willtake the place of genuine heart work. Thus reli-gion will become little more than a form.”—Coun-sels to Teachers, 540.

“Many human inventions are used to carry outplans after the mind and will of men with whomGod is not working. But it is not boastful wordsnor a multitude of ceremonies that show that theLord is working with His people.”—4 Bible Com-mentary, 1179.

PAUL AND THE CEREMONIAL LAW

It is claimed that Paul faithfully kept the cer-emonial laws, even after the Jerusalem Council

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meeting in Acts 15. But this is not true. The oneexception was at Philippi, where he kept a Passoverwith some Jewish Christians in order to try to reachtheir hearts (“At Philippi Paul tarried to keep thePassover.”—Acts of the Apostles, 390). To claim thatthis proves that Paul continued to keep the feastdays and other ceremonial laws is not true.

“Paul’s hearers were made to understand that theMessiah, for whose advent they had been longing,had already come; that His death was the antitypeof all the sacrificial offerings.”—Acts of theApostles, 246.

“Paul . . fully comprehended the difference be-tween a living faith and a dead formalism. Paulstill claimed to be one of the children of Abraham,and kept the Ten Commandments in letter and inspirit as faithfully as he had ever done before hisconversion to Christianity. But he knew that thetypical ceremonies [conducted at the Temple inJerusalem] must soon altogether cease, since thatwhich they had shadowed forth had come to pass,and the light of the gospel was shedding its gloryupon the Jewish religion, giving a new significanceto its ancient rites.”—Story of Redemption, 306.

“Paul . . describes the visit which he made toJerusalem to secure a settlement of the very ques-tions which are now agitating the churches ofGalatia, as to whether the Gentiles should submitto circumcision and keep the ceremonial law . .But the three leading apostles, against whom no suchprejudice existed, having themselves been won tothe true position, brought the matter before the coun-cil, and won from all a concurrence in the deci-sion to leave the Gentiles free from the obliga-tions of the ceremonial law.”—6 Bible Commen-


118 The Feast Days

tary, 1108.“The slaying of the Passover lamb was a shadow

of the death of Christ. Says Paul: ‘Christ our Pass-over is sacrificed for us.’ 1 Corinthians 5:7. The sheafof first fruits, which at the time of the Passover waswaved before the Lord, was typical of the resurrec-tion of Christ. Paul says, in speaking of the resur-rection of the Lord and of all His people: ‘Christ thefirst fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at Hiscoming.’ 1 Corinthians 15:23.”—Great Controversy,399.

“Paul desires his brethren to see that the greatglory of a sin-pardoning Saviour gave significanceto the entire Jewish economy. He desired them tosee also that when Christ came to the world, anddied as man’s sacrifice, type met antitype.

“There were those in Paul’s day who were con-stantly dwelling upon circumcision, and theycould bring plenty of proof from the Bible to showits obligation on the Jews; but this teaching was ofno consequence at this time; for Christ had diedupon Calvary’s cross, and circumcision in theflesh could not be of any further value.”—6 BibleCommentary, 1061.

“Paul did not bind himself nor his converts tothe ceremonies and customs of the Jews, withtheir varied forms, types, and sacrifices, for herecognized that the perfect and final offering hadbeen made in the death of the Son of God.”—Sketches From the Life of Paul, p. 105.

“But there is a law which was abolished, whichChrist ‘took out of the way, nailing it to His cross.’Paul calls it ‘the law of commandments containedin ordinances.’ This ceremonial law, given by Godthrough Moses, with its sacrifices and ordinances,was to be binding upon the Hebrews until type

119

met antitype in the death of Christ as the Lamb ofGod to take away the sin of the world. Then all thesacrificial offerings and services were to be abol-ished.

“Paul and the other apostles labored to showthis, and resolutely withstood those Judaizing teach-ers who declared that Christians should observe theceremonial law.”—Signs, September 4, 1884.

“These false teachers were mingling Jewish tra-ditions with the truths of the gospel. Ignoring thedecision of the general council at Jerusalem, theyurged upon the Gentile converts the observanceof the ceremonial law.

“The situation was critical. The evils that hadbeen introduced threatened speedily to destroythe Galatian churches.

“Paul was cut to the heart, and his soul was stirredby this open apostasy on the part of those to whomhe had faithfully taught the principles of the gospel.He immediately wrote to the deluded believers, ex-posing the false theories that they had accepted andwith great severity rebuking those who were de-parting from the faith.”—Acts of the Apostles, 383-384.

“In his ministry, Paul was often compelled to standalone. He was specially taught of God and daredmake no concessions that would involve principle.At times the burden was heavy, but Paul stood firmfor the right. He realized that the church mustnever be brought under the control of humanpower. The traditions and maxims of men mustnot take the place of revealed truth. The advanceof the gospel message must not be hindered by theprejudices and preferences of men, whatever mightbe their position in the church.”—Acts of theApostles, 199-200.


120 The Feast Days

THIS IS OUR FEAST TODAY

“Rest yourself wholly in the hands of Jesus.Contemplate His great love; and while you medi-tate upon His self-denial, His infinite sacrificemade in our behalf in order that we should be-lieve in Him, your heart will be filled with holyjoy, calm peace, and indescribable love.

“As we talk of Jesus, as we call upon Him inprayer, our confidence that He is our personal, lov-ing Saviour will strengthen, and His character willappear more and more lovely . . We may enjoy richfeasts of love; and as we fully believe that we areHis by adoption, we may have a foretaste ofheaven.

“Wait upon the Lord in faith. The Lord draws outthe soul in prayer, and gives us to feel His preciouslove. We have a nearness to Him, and can holdsweet communion with Him. We obtain distinctviews of His tenderness and compassion, and ourhearts are broken and melted with contemplationof the love that is given to us. We feel indeed an abid-ing Christ in the soul . .

“Our peace is like a river, wave after wave of gloryrolls into the heart, and indeed we sup with Jesusand He with us. We have a realizing sense of the loveof God, and we rest in His love. No language candescribe it, it is beyond knowledge. We are onewith Christ, our life is hid with Christ in God.

“We have the assurance that when He who is ourlife shall appear, then shall we also appear with Himin glory. With strong confidence, we can call Godour Father. Whether we live or die, we are theLord’s. His Spirit makes us like Jesus Christ in

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temper and disposition, and we represent Christ toothers.

“When Christ is abiding in the soul the fact can-not be hid; for He is like a well of water springing upinto everlasting life. We can but represent the like-ness of Christ in our character, and our words, ourdeportment, produces in others a deep, abiding,increasing love for Jesus, and we make manifest. . that we are conformed to the image of JesusChrist.”—Sons and Daughters of God, 311.

CONCLUSION

What then are we to obey today? In our ownstrength, we can do nothing. But in the enablinggrace of Christ we can obey all that God asks ofus.

What does He ask of us today? Read the Bibleand Spirit of Prophecy and repent of every sin, obeyevery requirement, and claim every promise. Thisis not as difficult as it sounds. In Christ’s strength,each day keep reading, repenting, and obeying. Cling-ing to Christ, if you will do your part, God will carryyou through to final victory.

What is our special work today? It is not tosearch out obscure theories and chase after preach-ers with new ideas. It is to obey God, develop a char-acter of righteousness, and give the final warning tothe world.

What is the final warning to the world? It isthe Third Angel’s Message, which warns people tokeep the commandments of God by enabling faithin Jesus Christ. Special attention is to be given to


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sharing the truth about the Bible Sabbath.What is the best way in which we can do

this? Talk to others, share low-cost missionarybooks with them. They tend to keep books handedto them, and share them with still others. Still oth-ers read those books also. People value books. Eachbook is what Ellen White called “a silent preacher.”Distribute them as widely as possible. Stay awayfrom those who preach strange, new concepts notclearly and abundantly found, page after page, inthe Bible and Spirit of Prophecy.

But did not Ellen White tell us to keep thefeast days and the ceremonial laws? Both arehardly mentioned in the Spirit of Prophecy. You canread from one end of the five-volume ConflictSeries to the other—and not once will you find adefinite statement that you should strictly obeywhat is written in any of the ceremonial laws. Youcan read all the way through the nine volumes ofTestimonies, and you will find the same pattern.Obedience today to the laws nailed to the cross isnot required. By now you should recognize that obe-dience today to those shadow laws is a denial ofChrist.

But can we not do it anyway? Will not Godapprove of our efforts to provide a more per-fect obedience? God does not approve of disobe-dience. He has told us in Scripture that those lawshave been abolished. To disregard this and try toonce again start obeying them is rebellion.

The Israelites in the wilderness did somethingsimilar. When God told them to war against theCanaanites, they refused. When the next day, He

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told them not to,—they attempted to do thatwhich He no longer wanted them to do—and metwith disastrous results.

God does not ask for all our man-made inno-vations. He does not ask us to begin obeyingnew theories. He asks for simple obedience toHis revealed will at this time in history. Will weobey that which He has specifically told us to do,and not do that which He has specifically told usnot to do?

“It is not so essential to understand the preciseparticulars in regard to the relation of the two laws.It is of far greater consequence that we knowwhether we are transgressing the law of God,whether we stand in obedience or disobediencebefore the holy precepts.”—6 Bible Commentary,1110.If you are able to do so, attend camp meet-

ings and similar gatherings. Try to make surethat truth is taught there, not speculations and er-rors. And rejoice there with fellow believers! Re-joice in the blessed hope, in the reality that youwill soon be going home to be with Jesus for-ever! But do not call those gatherings “feast days”!We have learned that, in God’s eyes, the feast daysended at the cross.

There are others who look to you as an examplethey want to follow. You do not want to be the onewho led them into error. No, no; you do not wantthat! You would not want to meet such an accountin the Judgment.

Keep reading the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy.Accept and act on what you read. You are safe


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only as, in the strength of Christ, you keep read-ing and obeying. Let this be your motto:

“The Will of God: Nothing More, Nothing Less,Nothing Else.”

—vf

POSTSCRIPT:UNDER ATTACK

In the beginning, the character, nature, and au-thority of God came under attack. Lucifer malignedGod’s character as selfish, declared that Christ wasnot fully divine and eternal, and said that God’s lawwas unnecessary.

These original three pillars of truth are still be-ing attacked today, in various forms,—even amongAdvent believers.

Regarding the character of God and His planof redemption: It is declared that the great, centralevent of earth’s history—the death of Christ—wasnot so important after all; for it was not sufficient tofulfill the complete system of Old Testament typesand shadows. Therefore, we ought to keep some ofthose Mosaic ceremonies today. God did not reallymean what He said, when, in the New Testamentand Spirit of Prophecy, He told us that the ceremo-nial laws were done away at the cross. This attackundermines the very honor of God, and the realityand importance of the great truth of what happenedat Calvary. The error denies that the cross stands ona great divide—separating the old from the new—anddeclaring, throughout all eternity to come, that Christ

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was willing to sink to the lowest and suffer and diefor His creatures, so they could be saved! Whetheror not they realize it, those who chose to continuekeeping the ceremonial laws, after the greatest ofall sacrifices, are denying the truth that it occurred.

This present book The Feast Days is the mostcomplete refutation of that charge which is avail-able, and includes 370 Bible and Spirit of Prophecyquotations or references replying to the error.

Regarding the substance of God: It is declaredthat Christ is not eternal God, and that the HolySpirit does not exist. Yet there are clear statementswhich, although they refute the Catholic teaching ofa trinity, clearly establish the truth of the Three Per-son Godhead.

Our book, Defending the Godhead, deals withthese falsehoods in great detail, with over 630 Bibleand Spirit of Prophecy quotations or references.

Regarding the law of God: The attempt toeliminate obedience to God’s moral law of Ten Com-mandments undermines His authority. Yet this in-sidious error has crept in among Advent believers.

Many printed materials are available which re-ply to this charge. Among them, Great Controversyprovides the best coverage.

Regarding the nature and authority of God:Efforts to deny God’s control over the universe un-dermine His nature and very existence. The errorthat God is a weakling who is not dealing with thegreat controversy, and will never kill the incorrigi-bly wicked really denies His righteousness, holiness,justice, and authority.


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The most complete reply to that error is foundin our book, The Terrible Storm, which will pro-vide you with the most complete collection of In-spired materials on the subject.

God does not just make arbitrary decisions.Everything is done for a purpose. He gave us theTen Commandments, so we would obey it. He gaveus Jesus, so we would have power to obey all thatHe asks of us. He gave the ceremonial laws to theIsraelites to point them forward to the coming Re-deemer and His sacrificial death. He gives us allprecious probationary time,—and the day is com-ing that He will put to death those who have rejectedHis warnings and repeated calls to repent and re-turn to Him.

We dare not deny the truths of the Bible andSpirit of Prophecy. We must prayerfully keep read-ing in those books and obeying what we read!

“Now of the things which we have spokenthis is the sum: We have such an HighPriest, who is set on the right hand of thethrone of the Majesty in the heavens; aminister of the sanctuary, and of the truetabernacle, which the Lord pitched, andnot man. For every high priest is ordainedto offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it isof necessity that this man have somewhatalso to offer. For if He were on earth, Heshould not be a priest.”

—Hebrews 8:1-4

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